, 


•" 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

DAVIS 


OUTLINES  OF  THE  FIRST  COURSE 


OF 


A.  L  E 


AGRICULTURAL 


LECTUBES. 


: 


HENRY   S.  OLCOTT. 

•     9 

WITH     AN     IN  T  110  r  I  O  N     B  Y 

• 

JOHN    ^  .    FOP^TER,, 

^OFr 


M.    SAXTOX,   BAKKER   AND   CO., 
Xo.    25    PARK    ROW, 
1860. 

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1 


M.   SAXTON,    IJAKKEIt  A 

No.  25  PAEK  ROW,  NEW  YORK. 


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it  D.)  Agriculture, 

(John  J.)  Farm  Implenn  . 
Thomas  (J.  J.)  American  Fruit  Culturist, 

Thompson  on  the  Food  of  Animals, 

•  S.  E.)  Young  Farmer's  Manual... 

Turner's  Cotton  Planter's  Manual, '. . 

Waldeu's  (J.  II.)  Soil  Culture, 

Warder's  Hedges  and  Evergreens, 

Waring's  Elements  of  Agriculture, 

(John  M.)  Manual  on  Bees, 

Wheat  Plant, 

Gardening  for  the  South, 

•liege  Lectures, 

Youatt  and  Spooner  on  the  Horse, 

Youatt  and  Martin  on  Cattle 

Youatt  and  Martin  on  tho  Hug, 

Youatt  on  Sheep, 


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OUTLINES 


OP   THE 


FIRST    COURSE 


OF 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 


BY 

HENRY  S.    OLCOTT. 


WITH      AN      INTRODUCTION      BY 

JOHN  A.  PORTER, 

' 

PROFESSOR    OF    ORGANIC     CHEMISTRY    AT    YALE    COLLEGE. 


NEW  YORK: 
C.  M.  SAXTON,  BARKER  &  CO., 

25    PARK    BOW. 
1860. 

"0 

LIBRARY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


Entered  According  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1860,  by 
C.    M.    SAXTON,    BARKER    &    CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southen  District  of 

New  York. 


EDWARD  0.  JENKINS, 

^printer  &  .Sterrotnper, 
No.  26  FRANKFORT  STREET. 


v 


PUBLISHERS'    PREFACE. 


THESE  sketches  of  the  lectures  which  were  given  during  the 
recent  Convention  at  Yale  College,  were  first  printed  in  the 
columns  of  the  New  York  Tribune.  Occurring  as  it  did  when 
there  was  an  unusual  pressure  upon  the  columns  of  the  paper, 
the  Convention  would  never  have  been  reported  at  all  if  the 
editors  had  not  regarded  with  great  favor  this  attempt  to  im 
prove  the  condition  of  our  Agricultural  science.  Anxious  to 
lend  the  powerful  aid  of  the  Tribune  to  further  the  object  in 
view,  they  allotted  a  sufficient  space  daily  for  a  succinct  outline 
of  the  lectures  throughout  the  entire  course.  So  much  valua 
ble  information  was  embraced  in  the  several  discourses,  that 
to  the  reporter  it  was  a  matter  of  great  difficulty  to  select  as 
little  as  would  fill  the  space  at  his  disposal ;  and  the  readers  of 
this  pamphlet  will  not,  therefore,  wonder  if  he  has  not  done 
full  justice  to  either  the  topics  or  the  lectures.  When  the 
course  was  almost  completed  frequent  inquiries  were  made  as 
to  whether  any  complete  report  of  it  would  be  published  ;  and 
by  many  a  desire  was  expressed  that  if  nothing  more  detailed 
and  elaborate  could  be  done,  at  least  these  Tribune  sketches 
should  be  collected  in  book  form,  for  convenience  of  preserva 
tion.  It  being  established  beyond  doubt  that  no  full  publica 
tion  could,  for  various  reasons,  be  made,  the  publishers  of  this 
volume  have  made  arrangements  with  Mr.  Olcott  to  edit  and 
correct  his  notes.  To  render  them  as  nearly  perfect  as  their 
brevity  permits,  they  have  been  submitted  for  revision  to  the 
lecturers  themselves,  and  may,  therefore,  be  considered  as  at 
least  fair  summaries  of  the  matter  delivered  by  them  from  the 
lecture-desk. 


LECTURES 

GIVEN  DURIXG  THB 

AGRICULTURAL  CONVENTION  AT  NEW  HAYEN, 

FEBRUARY,     1860, 


FIBST  WEEK.-AGBICULTUBAL  CHEMISTEY,  &c. 

AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY, PROF.  S.  W.  JOHNSON. 

LECTURE  1.  Composition  of  the  Plant.  The  Organic  Elements — Oxygen,  Nitrogen,  Hydro 
gen,  and  Carbon.  LEC.  2.  Proximate  Organic  Principles  of  the  Plant — Cellulose,  Starch, 
Dextrine,  Sugar,  Gluten,  Albumen,  Casein,  Vegetable  Oils,  and  Acids.  LEC.  3.  Atmospheric 
Food  of  Plants— Water,  Carbonic  Acid,  Ammonia,  and  Nitric  Acid.  Their  sources  and  supply. 
LEC.  4.  The  Ash  of  Plants — Potash,  Soda,  lame,  Magnesia,  Oxyd  of  Iron,  Oxyd  of  Manganese, 
Chlorine,  Sulphur,  Phosphorus. 

ENTOMOLOGY, DR.  ASA  FITCH . 

LECTURE  1,  Great  losses  sustained  from  depredating  insects — their  classification,  structure, 
metamorphoses,  habits,  and  means  of  destruction.  LEG.  2.  Insects  injurious  to  grain  crops, 
with  a  particular  account  of  the  wheat  midge  and  Hessian  fly.  LKC.  8.  Insects  injurious  to 
fruit-trees,  with  a  particular  account  of  the  Curculio  and  the  Applc-Tree  Borer. 

TEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGY, DANIEL  C.  EATON,  ESQ. 

LECTURE  1.  The  vegetable  cell — its  form,  size,  structure,  contents,  origin,  and  mode  of 
growth.  LEC.  2.  The  seed,  root,  and  stem.  Nature  and  growth  of  seeds.  Structure  of 
roots.  General  structure  and  minute  anatomy  of  stems .  LKC.  3.  Arrangement  of  leaves — 
their  parts,  forms,  structure,  and  economy.  Food  of  plants.  Relations  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom.  LEC.  4.  Flowers  and  Fruits.  Arrangement  of  Flowers— their  parts  and  offices  of 
parts  ;  development  of  fruit. 

VEGETABLE  PATHOLOGY, CHAUNCEY  E.  G CODRICH. 

SECOND  WEEK-POMOLOGY,  &c. 

PEAR  CULTURE, Ho*.  MARSHALL  P.  WILDER. 

American  Pomology — the  best  method  of  promoting  it ;  with  practical  suggestions  on  the 
cultivation  of  the  pear. 

GRAPES, DR.  C.  W.  GRAXT. 

LECTURE  1.  Preparation  of  the  soil,  and  propagation  of  the  vine.      LEC.  2.  Culture  of 
native  varieties,  with  an  account  of  different  varieties  and  their  qualities.     Ij?c.  G.  Foreign 
varieties  ;  culture  and  treatment. 
(4) 


CONTENTS.  5 

BERRIES, R-  G.  PARDEE,  ESQ. 

LECTURE  1.  Strawberries,  Raspberries,  and  Blackberries— soil,  cultivation,  varieties.  LBC. 
2.  Currants,  Gooseberries,  Cranberries,  and  Whortleberries — soil,  cultivation,  varieties. 

FRUIT-TREES , P.  BARRY ,  ESQ. 

LECTCRE  1.  Propagation  and  treatment  of  Fruit-Trees  in  the  Nursery.  DEC.  2.  Transplant 
ing  and  management  of  Trees  in  the  orchard  and  garden. 

FRUITS , LEWIS  F .  ALLEN ,  ESQ. 

LECTURES  1  and  2.  The  Apple.  LEC.  3.  Uses  of  Fruits  economically  considered  ;  profits  as 
farm  crops  ;  their  consumption  as  food  for  man  ;  as  food  for  stock  ;  value  for  exportation. 

ARBORICULTURE, ....GEO.  B.  EMERSON,  ESQ. 

LECTURE  1.  Character  of  various  Forest  Trees,  as  found  growing  in  the  forests  of  Europe 
and  America.  Value  for  various  purposes.  Forest  culture.  Lac.  2.  Shade  and  Ornamental 
Trees  ;  modes  of  cultivation. 

THE  HONEY-BEE, MR.   QUINBY. 

AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY,  continued, PBOF.  S.  W.  JOHNSON. 

LECTURE  5.  The  soil ;  its  chemical  and  physical  character.  LEO.  6.  The  mechanical  im 
provement  of  the  soil  by  tillage,  fallow,  and  amendments.  LEC.  7.  The  Chemical  and  Me 
chanical  improvement  of  the  soil  by  manures.  LEC.  8.  The  conversion  of  Vegetable  into 
Animal  produce.  The  Chemistry  and  Physiology  of  Feeding. 

THIRD  WEEK.— AGRICULTURE  PROPER. 

DRAINAGE, HON.  HENRY  F.  FRENCH. 

LECTURE!.  The  sources  of  moisture.  What  lands  require  drainage.  Drainage  more 
necessary  in  America  than  in  England.  LEC.  2.  Various  methods  of  Drainage.  Direction, 
distance,  depth,  and  arrangement  of  Drains.  LEC.  3.  Effects  of  Drainage.  Drainage  pro 
motes  pulverization,  warmth,  absorption  of  fertilizing  substances  from  the  air.  LEO.  4. 
Over-drainage  ;  obstruction  of  drains  ;  remedies  ;  effects  of  drainage  on  streams  and  rivers. 

GRASSES, JOHN  STANTON  GOULD,  ESQ. 

LECTURE  1.  Amount  and  value  of  the  grass  crop.  The  great  increase  practicable  ;  de 
struction  of  the  Grasses  ;  obstacles  to  profitable  culture.  LEC.  2.  Classification  and  descrip 
tion  of  Grasses.  LEG,  3.  On  the  principles  of  laying  down  and  seeding  meadows  and  pas 
tures.  LEG.  4.  On  irrigation  and  drainage  of  meadows. 

CEREALS, JOSEPH  HARRIS,  ESQ. 

On  the  cultivation  of  Wheat  and  Indian  Corn. 

ROOT  CROPS, T.  S.  GOLD,  ESQ. 

The  field  Turnip,  Ruta  Baga,  Beet,  Carrot,  Parsnip— varieties,  soil,  culture,  composition, 
uses.  Root  culture  essential  to  high  farming.  Preservation  and  feeding  of  roots. 

TOBACCO  AND  HOPS, PROP.  WM.  H.  BREWER. 

LECTURE  1.  Range  of  Cultivation ;  preparation  of  soil  ;  care  of  plants  ;  gathering  and 
curing  ;  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  cultivation.  LEG.  2.  Hops,  ditto. 


• 


6  CONTENTS. 

SANDY  SOILS, LEVI  BARTLETT,  ESQ. 

On  the  cultivation  of  Winter  Wheat,  and  the  management  of  sandy  and  other  light  soils 

ENGLISH  AGRICULTURE, LUTHER  H.   TUCKER,  ESQ. 

LECTURE  1.  Causes  of  its  preeminence.  An  outline  of  the  chief  improvements  accom 
plished.  LKC.  2.  Examples  of  English  Farming  ;  High  Farming  ;  visits  to  great  Dairy 
establishments  ;  remarkable  results  of  Irrigation.  LEC.  3.  The  Agricultural  Shows  of  '59. 
Improvement  of  Stock.  Lessons  of  English  Agriculture. 

PROFITS  OF  AMERICAN  FARMLXG, HON.  JOSIAH  QUINCY,  JR. 


FOTJBTH  WEEK-DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

CATTLE, , CASSIUS    M.   CLAY,  ESQ. 

LECTURE  1.  On  the  five  leading  breeds,  with  notice  of  some  other  varieties.  LEG.  2.  Breed 
ing  as  an  Art. 

STOCK  BREEDING  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, LEWIS  F.  ALLEN,  ESQ. 

LECTURE  1.  Cattle,  Sheep,  Pigs  ;  their  various  breeds  ;  adaptation  to  climate,  soil,  and  pur 
pose.  LEG.  2.  Best  methods  of  breeding,  physiologically  considered.  Present  condition  of 
stock  breeding  and  rearing  in  the  United  States,  as  compared  with  some  portions  of  Europe. 
DEC.  3.  Poultry,  economically  and  aesthetically  considered  ;  varieties,  as  adapted  to  climate 
and  locality  ;  utility  and  markets. 

THE  DAIRY, CHARLES  L.  FLINT,  ESQ. 

LECTCRE  1.  Breeds  and  Breeding  of  Stock  with  special  reference  to  the  Dairy.  LEC.  2. 
The  management  and  economy  of  the  Dairy. 

HORSES, SANFORD  HOWARD,  ESQ. 

Characteristics  of  Breeds,  and  Breeding  for  special  purposes. 

BREAKING  AND  TRAINING  HORSES, DR.  DANIEL  F.  GULLIVER. 

On  the  methods  of  subduing  and  educating  the  Horse.  The  Baucher  and  Rarey  systems. 
Great  enhancement  of  intrinsic  and  market  value  of  Horses  by  these  means. 

SHEEP, T.  S.  GOLD,  ESQ. 

LECTURE  1.  History  and  description  of  the  various  breeds  ;  localities  and  uses  .to  which 
they  are  adapted.  LEG.  2.  Winter,  Spring  and  Summer  management  of  Sheep.  Diseases. 
Adaptation  of  our  country  to  Sheep  raising.  Comparative  advantages  of  Sheep  husbandry. 
Care  and  sale  of  wool. 

AGRICULTURAL  ASSOCIATIONS, MASON  C.  WELD,  ESQ. 

Organization  and  uses  of  Agricultural  Societies  and  Farmers'  Clubs. 


INTRODUCTION. 


BY  PROFESSOR  JOHN  A.  PORTER. 

i 

THE  views  of  Agricultural  Education  in  which  the  Course 
of  Lectures  originated — reports  of  which  are  here  presented  to 
the  public — were  set  forth  in  the  New  Englander,  for  Novem 
ber,  1859.  From  that  ar^cle  we  make  a  few  quotations,  as 
introductory  to  a  sketch  of  the  course  itself,  and  of  the  advan 
tages  which  may  be  expected  from  a  pursuance  of  this  system 
of  agricultural  education : 

"  There  is  little  question  in  the  public  mind  as  to  the  impor 
tance  of  new  agencies  for  the  diffusion  of  agricultural  knowl 
edge.  A  more  difficult  question  is,  how  the  lack  of  them 
shall  be  supplied.  The  Press  does  much,  but  by  no  means  all 
that  is  required.  The  contact  of  man  with  man,  and  of  mind 
with  mind,  is  necessary  to  inspire  the  enthusiasm  which  is 
essential  to  rapid  progress. 

"  The  introduction  of  books  on  elementary  science  into  our 
Common  Schools,  would  be  a  great  step  in  advance  ;  but  here 
again  there  is  the  absence  of  that  contact  of  the  man  of  knowl 
edge  with  the  men  who  need  it,  which  is  essential  to  the 
highest  success. 

"Shall  we  wait  for  the  establishment  by  Government  of 
great  agricultural  institutions,  similar  to  those  of  continental 
Europe  ?  Such  institutions  are  among  the  most  obvious  and 
essential  wants  of  our  time,  but  a  public  and  general  opinion  of 
their  utility  and  necessity  must  be  created  before  either  our 

(7) 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

State  or  National  Governments  will  seriously  consider  their 
establishment.  Shall  we  await  the  results  of  private  enterprise 
or  beneficence  in  the  creation  of  agricultural  institutions,  with 
their  model  farms  and  costly  apparatus  of  instruction,  and  their 
corps  of  professors,  exclusively  devoted  to  the  business  of  in 
struction  ?  For  these  also  we  should  have  long  to  wait,  not  so 
much  because  of  the  want  of  liberality  among  those  who  have 
the  means  to  endow  such  institutions,  as  for  the  lack  of  a  clear 
conviction  as  yet  of  their  utility,  and  the  really  practical  charac 
ter  of  the  information  they  would  supply. 

"  It  has  seemed  to  us  that  this  problem  of  a  more  perfect  dif 
fusion  of  knowledge  on  agricultural  subjects,  is  capable  of 
another  solution  than  that  which  consists  in  devising  means  for 
obtaining  governmental  appropriations,  or  awaiting  the  munifi 
cence  of  individuals.  m 

"  In  the  attempts  which  have  hitherto  been  made  in  this  direc 
tion,  too  exclusive  reliance  has  been  imposed,  as  it  seems  to  us, 
on  purely  professional  instruction  ;  and  it  has  been  wrongly  as 
sumed  that  it  is  necessary  to  await  the  gradual  production  of 
a  class  of  men  qualified  to  impart  it.  No  necessity  exists,  as 
we  believe,  to  await  the  creation  or  production  of  anything 
that  does  not  now  exist,  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  great 
work.  The  material  is  at  hand.  We  have  undiffused  knowl 
edge  among  us  in  every  department  of  agriculture  and  horti 
culture,  and  of  science  applied  to  cultivation,  as  minute  and 
profound  as  exists  anywhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"  In  accordance  with  this  view,  the  solution  which  we  pro 
pose  is  the  enlistment  of  practical  men,  who  are  not  professional 
teachers,  in  the  work  of  instruction,  and  their  combination 
in  such  numbers,  that  a  small  contribution  of  time  and  labor 
from  each  shall  make  a  sufficient  aggregate  to  meet  the  object 
in  view.  The  special  necessity  for  such  a  system,  in  the  case 
of  the  pursuit  we  are  considering,  grows  out  of  the  fact  that 
there  is  much  in  agriculture  which  has  not,  as  yet,  taken  the 
form  of  Science,  and  can  only  be  acquired  from  practical  men. 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

"We  are  all  familiar  with  the  immense  results  accomplished 
by  combinations  of  capital  in  commercial  enterprise,  in  bank 
ing,  in  railroad  projects,  in  manufacturing.  The  combination 
which  is  practicable  in  agriculture  is  of  another  kind — the 
association  of  intelligence  and  knowledge  in  the  work  of  in 
struction,  for  the  indirect  attainment  of  great  results  in  this 
most  important  of  all  fields  of  human  labor. 

"  To  realize  such  association  of  knowledge  we  would,  then, 
assemble  from  the  farm,  the  garden,  the  nursery,  the  vineyard, 
and  from  the  ranks  of  science,  gentlemen  distinguished  for 
their  skill  in  the  various  specialties  of  agriculture — practical 
and  theoretic, — and  call  on  them  to  make  each  his  contribution 
to  the  work,  of  instruction.  And  then  we  would  summon  the 
intelligent  and  enterprising  farmers  of  the  country,  young  and 
old,  to  gather  and  learn  from  the  most  highly  qualified  among 
their  own  number,  the  secrets  of  their  success.  We  would 
propose  that  such  aggregations  of  knowledge,  as  have  been 
suggested,  should  be  made  at  as  many  different  points  in  the 
country  as  the  available  material  would  warrant,  and  that  the 
instruction  they  would  furnish  should  be  adapted  as  exactly  as 
possible,  in  time  and  extent,  to  the  circumstances  of  our  agri 
cultural  population. 

"  Such  gatherings  would  partake  of  the  character  of  the 
agricultural  convention,  on  the  one  hand,  in  which  experienced 
cultivators  meet  for  their  mutual  enlightenment ;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  of  the  agricultural  college,  within  whose  walls  the 
less  experienced  assemble  to  take  advantage  of  the  deliberations 
of  the  former,  and  to  listen  also  to  their  formal  instruction." 

The  experiment  proposed  as  above,  in  November  last,  has 
since  been  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Yale  Scientific 
School.  Before  proceeding  with  our  sketch  of  it,  a  few  words 
may  be  appropriate  with  regard  to  the  Institution  which  has 
undertaken  to  carry  out  this  scheme  of  Agricultural  Educa 
tion. 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

The  Yale  Scientific  School,  is  the  Scientific  Department  of 
Yale  College,  sustaining  the  same  relation  to  the  parent  insti 
tution  as  the  schools  of  Law,  Medicine,  and  Divinity.  Its 
Faculty  consists  of  seven  Professors  of  the  following  branches, 
viz. : — Civil  Engineering,  Industrial  Physics  and  Mechanics, 
Geology  and  Mineralogy,  Metallurgy,  General  and  Applied 
Chemistry,  Organic  Chemistry  and  Agricultural  Chemistry. 
Its  course  of  study  extends  through  two  years.  The  Engineer 
ing  Department  has  recently  instituted  a  third  year's  course  of 
higher  studies,  and  the  new  degree  of  Civil  Engineer.  Within 
a  few  months  the  school  will  enter  upon  the  occupancy  of  a 
new  and  commodious  building  recently  erected  for  its  accom 
modation,  at  an  expense  of  forty  thousand  dollars,  by  a  friend 
of  the  Institution.  This  building  contains,  beside  its  laborato 
ries,  recitation  rooms  and  lecture  halls,  ample  accommodations 
for  an  extensive  agricultural  museum.  A  handsome  fund  for 
this  especial  object  is  already  accumulated,  and  will  be  largely 
increased  and  in  part  expended  during  the  present  summer. 
This  movement,  although  subserving  completely  the  objects  of 
the  winter  course  on  Agriculture,  has  by  no  means  exclusive 
reference  to  this  course,  but  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  development 
of  the  permanent  Agricultural  Department  of  the  Institution 
which  remains  in  session  during  the  whole  year. 

The  new  building  not  being  completed  as  was  anticipated, 
the  late  course  was  given  in  a  public  hall  in  the  city  of  New 
Haven.  The  lectures  were  commenced  on  the  first  day  of  Feb 
ruary,  and  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  that  month  were  brought 
to  a  close.  Twenty-six  gentlemen,  distinguished  in  various 
specialties  of  agriculture,  participated  directly  in  the  work  of 
instruction,  and  not  less  than  five  hundred  persons  were  attract 
ed  to  the  city  of  New  Haven  during  its  progress.  Three  or 
four  lectures  were  given  each  day,  and  the  time  not  thus  occu 
pied  was  devoted  to  inquiries  on  the  part  of  the  audience,  and 
to  discussions  thus  suggested.  These  discussions,  in  which 
other  gentlemen  of  experience  besides  the  lecturers  took  an 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

active  part,  proved  to  be  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  this  convention. 

We  proceed  to  a  few  remarks,  suggested  by  the  experience 
of  the  late  course,  as  to  the  kind  and  degree  of  benefit  which 
may  be  expected  from  similar  conventions  in  the  future. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  obvious  that  their  usefulness  is  to  be 
found  by  no  means  exclusively  or  even  rjrincipally,  in  the  nov 
elties  in  agricultural  science  or  practice  which  are  likely  to  be 
presented  in  the  lectures.  Every  important  discovery  in  agri 
culture  finds  its  way,  of  necessity,  into  the  agricultural  journals, 
and  through  the  newspaper  press  becomes  the  property  of  the 
country.  In  addition  to  this,  every  important  subject  on  agri 
culture  or  horticulture  is  presented  in  books  especially  devoted 
to  the  purpose,  which  the  cultivator  may  study  at  his  leisure 
without  the  necessity  of  leaving  his  home.  These  facts  might 
seem  at  first  view  to  do  away  with  all  necessity  for  such  gath 
erings.  They  do  not  influence  us,  however,  to  hesitate  in  the 
least  in  declaring  them  among  the  most  efficient  means  in  ex 
istence  for  promoting  agricultural  progress. 

On  the  benefits  to  the  experienced  cultivator  it  is  unneces 
sary  to  dwell.  Agricultural,  horticultural,  and  stock-breeding 
conventions  have  come  to  be  common  and  popular,  and  it  is 
already  established  by  experience  that  they  subserve  many  im 
portant  purposes  which  are  unattainable  by  other  means.  The 
statement  of  numerous  individual  experiences  in  such  a  conven 
tion,  will  frequently  show  in  an  hour  on  which  side  the  balance 
of  testimony  lies,  and  so  decide  in  a  brief  session  questions 
which  have  been  the  subject  of  a  newspaper  war  of  months. 
A  brisk  fire  of  questions  will  often  annihilate,  in  a  few  minutes, 
the  carefully  guarded  statement  which  has  served  as  the  pro 
tection  of  some  cherished  error,  and  so  expose,  by  a  single  at 
tack,  the  fatally  weak  point  of  some  plausible  theory,  which 
might  have  been  perpetuated  in  print  for  years. 

Often,  also,  out  of  a  chaos  of  seemingly  inconsistent  testimony 
there  will  crystallize  by  the  aggregation  of  individual  experi- 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

ences  a  really  valuable  result,  which  would  never  have  been 
attained  but  by  the  free  interchange  of  opinions,  which  is  only 
possible  when  men  meet  face  to  face. 

Of  the  advantage  of  such  conventions  to  the  comparatively 
inexperienced  cultivator,  we  shall  speak  with  somewhat  more 
of  detail. 

In  the  first  place,  attendance  upon  them  necessitates  the  ab 
solute  and  undisturbed  appropriation  of  a  certain  definite  time 
to  the  acquisition  of  agricultural  knowledge.  At  home  the 
time  would  not  have  been  found ;  at  the  convention  it  is  secured. 
The  young  farmer  who  is  at  the  trouble  and  expense  of  going 
abroad  for  a  month  for  the  purpose  of  study,  feels  that  it  is  his 
sole  business  for  the  session  to  learn,  as  it  is  on  the  farm  to  work. 
This  consideration  is  an  argument  of  itself  almost  sufficient  for 
such  gatherings.  A  convention  of  merest  tyros  in  agriculture, 
without  teachers  to  instruct  or  guide  them,  would  of  itself  be 
a  valuable  institution,  if  only  for  the  definite  allotment  of  time 
to  the  business  of  study.  Assembled  with  such  advantages, 
of  instruction  the  time  secured  for  such  an  object  ensures  the 
most  important  results. 

A  second  advantage  of  such  conventions  is  the  influence  of 
the  living  teacher.  This,  in  the  case  of  persons  who  are  with 
out  the  mental  discipline  furnished  by  a  course  of  severe  study, 
is  an  advantage  which  cannot  well  be  over-estimated.  The 
young  man  who  will  gape  in  the  chimney-corner  over  an  agri 
cultural  volume,  will  listen  with  intense  interest  to  the  very 
same  matter  from  the  lips  of  an  earnest  speaker.  And  the  en 
thusiasm  of  the  teacher  will  infuse  a  permanent  vitality  into  the 
principles  he  communicates,  which  will  make  them  living  and 
efficient  agencies  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil,  instead  of  mere  dead 
acts  accumulated  and  laid  away  for  a  future  use  which  is  never 
realized. 

To  illustrate  by  a  particular  case,  we  venture  to  say  that  the 
four  lectures  on  Drainage,  given  by  Judge  French,  during  the 
recent  course,  did  more  to  make  an  impression  on  the  minds 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

of  the  young  farmers  who  heard  them,  and  more  to  ensure  at 
tention  to  this  important  means  of  agricultural  improvement, 
than  all  the  essays  on  the  subject  which  they  had  ever  perused. 
And  the  same  principle  might  be  illustrated  by  many  other 
lectures  of  the  course. 

A  third  advantage  of  such  conventions  is  to  be  found  in  the 
illustration  of  the  subjects  presented  by  specimens  and  experi 
ments,  by  drawings  and  models,  and  by  living  plants  and  ani 
mals.  This  is  an  incalculable  advantage  which  the  private 
library  and  the  home  study  cannot  furnish,  and  which  places 
this  mode  of  instruction  for  definiteness  of  information  immeas 
urably  above  all  others.  Mr.  Barry  whittling  at  his  pear-tree 
before  the  audience,  is  worth  a  whole  treatise  on  grafting  and 
pruning.  Mr.  Gold's  discourse  on  sheep,  interspersed  with  the 
bleatings  of  his  Cotswolds,  and  punctuated  with  the  black  noses 
of  his  Southdowns,  is  worth  a  volume  on  mutton  and  wool. 

Still  another  advantage  of  such  gatherings  is  to  be  found  in 
the  opportunity  they  afford  to  the  pupil  of  eliciting  from  his 
instructors  knowledge  especially  adapted  to  his  own  particu 
lar  case.  Books  are  dumb  to  such  inquiries,  and  even  the  elab 
orate  treatise  often  leaves  unnoticed  the  particular  point  which 
is  essential,  in  order  to  give  the  rest  value  for  any  particular 
locality.  It  is  for  this  reason,  as  before  stated,  that  the  inquiries, 
replies,  and  discussions  which  are  regarded  as  essential  fea 
tures  of  this  method  of  education,  are  also  its  most  efficient 
agencies  of  instruction.  These  are  by  no  means  confined  to 
the  lecture-room.  During  such  a  convention  every  hotel  and 
boarding-house  is  the  locality  of  an  agricultural  club,  which  is 
in  session  during  the  whole  of  the  twenty-four  hours  not  de 
voted  to  the  public  meetings  and  to  sleep. 

Finally,  we  remark,  that  the  mere  contact  with  men  of  great 
experience  and  high  success  in  agriculture,  is  stimulating  and 
inspiring  to  the  young  agriculturist  as  no  mere  shadow  of  their 
personality  in  print  can  possibly  be.  They  stand  before  him  as 
living  illustrations  of  the  great  results  of  fortune  and  of  reputa* 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

tion  which  may  be  achieved  by  energy  and  enterprise  in  this 
noble  field  of  labor.  They  encourage  him  also  by  the  impression 
which  their  personal  presence  will  not  fail  to  make,  that  these 
results  are  not  a  consequence  of  great  intellectual  superiority, 
of  freedom  from  doubts  and  difficulties,  and  of  mysterious 
insight  into  the  processes  of  nature,  but  of  quiet  and  persistent 
labor,  to  which  he  also  is  equal,  of  science  which  he  can  attain- 
and  of  enterprise  which  he  himself  can  rival. 

If  any  one  has  been  disposed  to  inquire  whether  the  news 
paper  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  such  a  convention  do  not 
furnish  a  large  part  of  the  advantage  which  would  be  derived 
from  attending  its  lectures  and  deliberations,  the  reply  which 
we  are  disposed  to  make  to  such  an  inquiry  will  already  have 
been  inferred.  While  serving  perfectly  its  purpose  of  giving 
to  the  public  a  general  idea  of  the  proceedings  of  an  Agricul 
tural  Convention,  the  newspaper  can  furnish  at  best,  consistently 
with  its  other  offices,  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  matter  of  the 
mere  lectures  of  such  a  course.  Should  it  furnish  all,  it  would 
supply  but  the  mere  skeleton  of  their  value  to  which  the  life  and 
blood  of  inquiry  and  discussion  and  special  application,  and 
the  electricity  of  personal  influence  and  enthusiasm,  would  be 
wanting.  Detailed  reports,  which  should  record  the  total  pro 
ceedings,  including  inquiries,  replies,  and  discussions,  are  out 
of  the  question,  from  the  space  they  would  occupy  and  the 
expense  they  would  involve.  But  if  practicable,  they  would 
be  destitute  of  all  the  peculiar  advantages  which  have  been 
rehearsed  as  belonging  to  the  system.  These  are  to  be  found, 
if  we  may  be  allowed  here  to  recapitulate,  in  the  appropria 
tion  of  a  definite  period  to  the  work  of  study,  in  the  substitu 
tion  of  oral  for  written  instruction,  in  the  facilities  afforded  for 
special  inquiries,  in  the  opportunities  furnished  of  obtaining 
valuable  knowledge  in  private  conversation,  in  the  personal 
influence  of  the  instructor,  in  the  intercourse  with  eminent  cul 
tivators,  and  in  the  complete  illustration  to  the  eye  of  every 
subject  which  is  prcsontod  to  the  mind. 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

In  relation  to  the  present  reports,  although  they  are  far  from 
needing  any  apology,  it  is  but  justice  to  the  reporter  to  say 
that  they  were  made  during  the  hurry  of  a  convention,  six  to 
eight  hours  of  whose  time  were  occupied  every  day  with  public 
meetings,  and  under  a  pressure  of  material  which  compelled 
him  to  make  selection  his  object,  rather  than  completeness. 
In  justice  to  the  lecturers,  it  is  proper  to  say  they  are  not  to 
be  held  responsible  for  any  inaccuracies  of  statement  which 
may  possibly  have  crept  into  the  reports,  or  for  the  occasional 
inadequate  presentation  of  their  discourses.  This  was  often 
necessitated  by  the  pressure  of  other  matter  on  the  columns  of 
the  paper  for  which  the  reports  were  prepared.  A  few  omis 
sions  which  occurred,  from  the  same  cause,  have  been  supplied 
from  other  journals,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  writer  of  this 
introduction.  One  of  the  gentlemen  who  took  part  in  the 
course,  regarding  it  as  entirely  impracticable  to  give  brief 
reports  any  practical  value,  has  requested  that  his  lecture  should 
be  omitted  in  this  publication.  His  wishes  have  been  respected 
by  the  publishers. 

Let  the  enterprising  farmer,  who  would  attach  his  sons  to 
the  calling  to  which  he  has  devoted  his  own  life,  and  put  them 
on  the  road  to  success  in  their  pursuit,  beware  of  the  false 
economy  which  is  disposed  to  reason  that  an  agricultural  paper 
once  a  week,  or  a  report  of  a  convention  once  a  year,  is  all  that 
is  necessary  to  effect  this  important  object.  Let  him  give  his 
children  the  advantage  of  association  with  the  men  whose 
example  dignifies  and  elevates  his  calling,  and  demonstrates  it 
as  noble  a  road  to  fortune  and  to  happiness  as  any  that  nature 
or  art  has  opened.  Let  him  insure  for  them,  by  contact  with 
such  men,  somewhat  of  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  and  knowledge 
which  has  been  the  secret  of  their  success,  and  the  efficient 
instrument  of  their  advancement.  Thus  only  can  so  important 
an  object  be  realized. 

Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  in  this  attempt  to  set  forth  some 
of  the  advantages  of  the  system  of  Agricultural  Education  here 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

presented,  there  is  the  least  design  to  depreciate  any  one  of 
the  manifold  agencies  in  operation  for  the  accomplishment  of 
the  same  great  object  of  agricultural  improvement.  Of  these, 
perhaps  the  Press  is  the  most  important,  and  the  one  with 
whose  influence  we  could  least  afford  to  dispense  in  the  pro 
motion  of  this  cause.  But  the  Press  scatters  material  a  large 
part  of  which  is  lost,  for  the  want  of  leading  principles  in  the 
minds  of  its  readers  which  such  a  system  would  best  furnish, 
and  according  to  which  its  countless  facts  might  be  arranged. 
The  nucleus  of  knowledge  and  enthusiasm  once  created  by 
such  a  method  of  instruction,  it  would  attach  to  itself  these 
floating  fragments  of  experience  and  observation,  and,  like  the 
growing  crystal,  build  them  up  into  its  own  substance,  and 
make  them  part  of  its  own  life. 

The  Farmers'  Club  is  a  most  efficient  agency,  but  it  is  often 
a  dead  and  cumbrous  heap  for  want  of  the  fire  which  might  be 
kindled  from  such  a  flame.  The  Agricultural  Fair  is  a  most 
potent  instrument  of  progress,  but,  without  some  system  of 
agricultural  education  behind  it,  is  a  mere  confusing  chaos  of 
illustrations,  comparatively  worthless,  as  the  chemist's  experi 
ments  would  be  without  his  explanations,  for  lack  of  the  knowl 
edge  of  the  great  principles  to  be  illustrated.  All  of  these 
agencies  have  contributed  to  make  possible  the  introduction 
of  such  a  system  of  agricultural  education  as  is  here  discussed. 
The  system  once  in  operation  would  react  upon  these  earlier 
agencies,  and  give  them  increased  vigor  and  efficiency. 

The  Convention  and  course  of  lectures  recently  concluded, 
was  so  far  successful  as  to  justify  the  announcement  of  its  repe- 
tion  in  February,  1861.  It  is  regarded,  however,  as  important 
chiefly  as  having  furnished  the  means  of  determining  how  such 
a  course  may  be  made  most  useful  and  attractive  in  the  future. 
While  retaining,  therefore,  in  the  Course  of  '61,  the  fundamen 
tal  idea  of  this  system  of  Agricultural  Education,  viz.,  that  of 
the  combined  College  and  Convention,  the  second  course  will 
be  carried  out  with  various  modifications  which  have  been 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

suggested  by  the  experience  which  has  now  been  obtained. 
It  will  be  entered  upon  with  vastly  increased  means  of  success, 
in  buildings,  collections,  and  other  apparatus  of  instruction,  and 
also  in  the  wide  spread  interest  which  the  past  course  has 
awakened.  Undertaken  with  such  advantages,  it  will  be  of 
especial  interest  as  determining,  once  for  all,  the  practicability 
of  sustaining  such  a  course  of  instruction.  To  this  end,  an 
amount  of  patronage  at  least  two-fold,  and  probably  three 
fold  that  which  the  late  course  obtained,  is  essential,  even  on 
the  basis  of  extremely  moderate  compensation  to  the  lecturers. 
Whether  this  can  be  secured  our  experiment  of  next  winter 
will  determine. 


THE 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL 

LECTURES. 


FIRST  DAY.— FEB.  1,  1860. 

WHILE  the  friends  of  an  improved  agriculture  have  been  for 
many  years  advocating  this  or  that  reform,  and  to  this  day 
are  dolefully  wailing  over  the  torpid  state  of  farm  science,  and 
praying  that  something  might  be  done  to  popularize  it,  Professor 
Porter  of  Yale  College,  with  admirable  boldness,  has  conceived 
and  commenced  this  first  course  of  Agricultural  Lectures  at 
Yale  College.  He  very  wisely  thought  that  the  man  of  knowl 
edge  should  be  brought  in  direct  contact  with  the  men  who 
need  it,  the  skilled  farmer  come  face  to  face  with  the  unskilled, 
and  that,  by  choosing  a  number  of  men,  eminent  in  the  several 
branches  of  agriculture,  to  succeed  each  other  in  a  course  of 
lectures,  our  farmers'  sons,  by  sparing  a  fortnight  or  month  in 
winter,  and  coming  to  one  central  point,  would  get  more  in 
formation  of  value  to  themselves  than  if  they  pored  over  books 
for  a  whole  year.  He  plainly  saw  that  if  we  were  to  wait  for 
such  Governmental  aid  and  comfort  to  Agricultural  Colleges 
as  is  given  in  Europe,  he  and  we  all  might  grow  grey  and  die  be 
fore  our  hopes  were  half  realized  ;  and  no  more  feasible  plan 
suggesting  itself,  he  bethought  himself,  to  use  his  own  language, 
of  "  the  enlistment  of  practical  men,  who  are  not  professional 
teachers,  in  the  work  of  instruction,  and  their  combination  in 

(19) 


20  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

such  numbers  that  a  small  contribution  of  time  and  labor  from 
each  shall  make  a  sufficient  aggregate  to  meet  the  object  in 
view."  You  will  understand,  then,  that  mainly  to  Professor 
Porter,  and  not  to  Yale  College,  the  honor  of  originating  this 
plan  is  due.  Yale  has  done  something  for  scientific  agriculture 
since  about  the  year  1848,  when  a  Professorship  was  partially 
endowed  for  the  late  Prof.  John  Pitkin  Norton,  who  had  la 
bored  some  time  with  Johnston  in  England.  Norton  died  in 
1852,  much  regretted,  after  having  done  as  much  as  he  could 
to  make  his  department  useful  and  popular,  and  was  immedi 
ately  succeeded  by  Prof.  J.  A.  Porter,  who  was  called  from 
Brown  University.  Porter's  incumbency  ksted  five  years, 
when  he  accepted  the  Chair  of  Organic  Chemistry,  resigning 
his  own  place  to  a  rising  young  man,  Samuel  W.  Johnson. 
Mr.  Johnson  had  studied  two  years  in  the  Scientific  School 
here,  and  then  went  to  Germany,  where  he  worked  in  Leipsic 
a  year,  in  Erdmann's  laboratory,  and  an  equal  time  with  the 
great  Liebig,  at  Munich,  beside  making  visits  to  various  labor 
atories  and  schools  in  Germany,  England,  and  elsewhere. 
Since  he  took  his  Chair  at  Yale,  he  has  held  the  office  of  Chem 
ist  to  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  and  made  some  notable 
analyses  of  muck  and  phosphates,  the  latter  of  which  have  oc 
casioned  much  controversy. 

He  opened  the  course  this  morning  with  an  elementary  lec 
ture  on  agriculture,  confining  his  remarks  to  the  organic  ele 
ments  of  the  plant,  and  explaining  their  nature  and  properties 
by  the  usual  experiments. 

Three  lectures  are  to  be  given  daily  (except  Saturdays  and 
Mondays,  when  there  will  be  but  two,)  until  the  25th  of  this 
month.  The  morning  lecture  is  at  11  ;  the  afternoon,  at  3,  and 
the  evening  one  at  7  o'clock. 

The  3  o'clock  lecture  to-day  was  by  Mr.  DANIEL  C.  EATON. 
an  amateur  botanist  of  this  city,  who  has,  I  am  told,  a  very  ex 
tensive  herbarium,  and  has  given  many  years  of  study  to  his 
specialty.  His  lecture  to-day  treated  of  the  vegetable  cell — 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  21 

its  form,  size,  structure,  contents,  origin,  and  mode  of  growth. 
The  vegetable  cell,  he  says,  is  a  closed  vessel  like  an  egg,  and 
is  composed  of  an  outer  solid  membrane  which  contains  a  fluid, 
and  matter  floating  in  the  fluid,  or  attached  to  the  sides.  At 
first  the  enclosing  membrane  is  very  delicate,  and  is  called  a 
utricle  /  if  this  remains  closed  throughout  its  life,  it  is  called 
"  a  cell ;"  if  the  sides  of  several  adjoining  cells  disappear,  and 
the  series  is  arranged  into  a  tube,  it  becomes  "a  vessel."  Cells 
are  the  base  of  all  vegetation.  The  red  snow-plant,  and  the 
yeast-plant,  are  single  cells.  The  snow-plant,  so  graphically 
described  by  Kane  and  other  Arctic  explorers,  is  one  cell,  with 
little  particles  floating  within.  These  particles  become  cells 
themselves,  in  time,  and  the  outer  coat  bursting,  lets  them 
escape  to  commence  an  individual  existence  themselves.  Cells 
vary  in  form  in  different  plants,  and  even  in  the  same  plant 
they,  by  overcrowding  here  and  loosening  there,  get  distorted 
in  shape.  In  the  stems  of  water-lilies  some  of  the  cells  are 
star-shaped,  while  in  the  wood  of  trees  they  are  long  and  pipe- 
like.  The  diameter  of  cells  averages  from  l-1200th  of  an  inch, 
up  to  1 -250th  ;  but  the  common  puff-ball  of  our  pastures,  when 
broken,  spirts  out  a  fine  brown  powder,  each  particle  of  which 
is  a  cell,  or  spore  as  it  is  termed,  of  infinitesimal  diameter. 

The  membranous  wall  of  cells  is  of  different  toughness.  In 
the  sea-weed,  it  is  very  soft ;  in  ash,  hickory,  and  mahogany, 
very  hard ;  and  in  vegetable  ivory,  harder  still.  Cell  membrane 
never  dissolves  in  water,  but  swells.  It  is  called  "  cellulose," 
and  is  composed  of  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  nitrogen,  chemically 
written  thus  :  C.  12  ;  O.  10  ;  H.  10.  The  spaces  between  the 
cells  of  a  plant  are  filled  variously  : — sometimes  with  air  ;  in  the 
common  red  cedar,  with  minute  grains  of  red  aromatic  rosin  ; 
in  sumac,  with  a  thick  milky  sap ;  and  in  other  plants,  with 
gums.  The  contents  also  of  cells  vary.  The  growing  cells  of 
some  plants,  as  asparagus,  are  more  nutritious,  because  they 
contain  some  nitrogen,  which  goes  toward  making  muscle  in 
the  animal  body.  A  granular  matter,  a  viscid  fluid,  sap  (which 


22  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

is  almost  water  but  contains  sugar  sometimes,)  and  the  green 
leaf-color,  known  as  chlorophyll,  are  also  contained  in  the  cell. 
Starch,  too,  is  sometimes  there,  and  each  grain  of  it  is  organ 
ized,  and  so  organized  for  each  plant  that  the  source  of  a 
specimen  of  starch  may  often  be  revealed  by  microscopic  exam 
ination.  Potatoes  store  up  starch  in  enormous  quantities  for 
the  use  of  the  next  year's  seed-ball ;  but  we,  thieves  that  we 
are,  carry  off  storehouse,  contents  and  all  for  our  own  use. 

In  cells  there  are  acids  sometimes  ;  malic  is  made  by  the  ap 
ple,  citric  by  the  lemon,  and  other  kinds  by  others.  Starch  is 
insoluble  in  water,  and  cannot,  therefore,  circulate  through  the 
plant ;  but  sugar  can,  and  dextrine,  which  is  in  its  nature 
somewhat  intermediate  between  sugar  and  starch.  There  are 
two  grand  divisions  in  the  plant  world — the  flowering  and 
the  flowerless.  The  former  have  elongated  cells,  as  well  as 
short  ones,  but  the  simpler  of  the  latter  class  have  not.  The 
distinction  is  not  now  recognized  as  universal,  although  it  has 
been  until  recently. 

I  learn  that  a  friend  to  Yale  College  is  about  to  make  it  a 
magnificent  donation  in  the  shape  of  a  building  for  its  Scien 
tific  School.  The  main  building  is  about  fifty  feet  square,  and 
has  two  wings  of  equal  dimensions,  in  one  of  which  is  to  be 
the  Agricultural  Museum,  in  the  other  a  fine  laboratory.  The 
first  and  second  floors  of  the  main  building  are  assigned  to  the 
Engineering  School,  the  third  to  a  lecture  hall. 


SECOND  DAY.— FEB.  2,  1860. 

Dr.  ASA  FITCH,  of  New  York,  gave  last  evening  his  lecture 
on  "Economical  Entomology,"  or  injurious  insects.  The  Tem 
ple,  where  this  convention  sits,  was  about  half  filled,  and  the 
lecturer  was  frequently  applauded.  Dr.  Fitch  labors  in  a  field 
of  science  vastly  important  to  farmers,  but  very  poorly  under 
stood.  As  he  very  justly  remarked  last  evening,  the  devasta- 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  23 

tions  by  insects  are  not  noticed,  because  so  insidiously  made, 
but  if  our  eyes  could  but  be  opened  to  the  activity  of  our  little 
foes,  consternation  would  seize  us.  Go  into  our  forests  and  we 
see  every  portion  of  our  trees  attacked  by  some  insect — trunk, 
bark,  leaves,  and  roots,  all  having  their  peculiar  depredators. 
The  sweeping  away  of  our  forests  compels  the  insects  which 
formerly  fed  upon  them  to  turn  to  the  orchards,  which  have 
replaced  the  forests.  Thus  we  have  the  apple-tree  borer,  which 
originally  subsisted  in  the  wild  thorn-apple  ;  and  the  Buprestis, 
from  the  oak ;  and  from  present  indications  it  is  probable  we 
shall  hereafter  see  the  branches  of  our  apple-trees  lopped  off 
as  are  the  limbs  of  the  common  red  oak  in  particular  years,  and 
by  the  same  insect,  the  "  oak-pruner."  But  in  addition  to  these 
native  species,  quite  a  number  of  foreign  insects  have  been 
imported  in  the  thousand  commodities,  and  in  the  numberless 
trees  and  plants  which  we  import,  and  these  have  proved  the 
most  pernicious  foes  to  our  crops  and  trees.  Our  crops  and 
climate  favoring  their  development,  they  multiply  to  a  frightful 
extent,  and  do  far  greater  damage  here  than  they  did  in  Europe. 
The  bark  louse,  for  instance,  on  both  sides  of  Lake  Michigan, 
has  ruined  nearly  every  orchard.  For  years  after  the  settle 
ment  of  this  country  Avheat  was  an  absolutely  sure  crop,  but 
the  yield  dwindled  with  successive  years,  and  now,  in  large 
districts,  its  culture  is  necessarily  abandoned.  Reasons  have 
been  urged  to  account  for  this ;  that  our  soil  has  deteriorated, 
and  our  climate  changed,  but  they  do  not  explain  the  difficulty. 
With  the  best  of  manuring  and  tillage,  we  cannot  get  the  crops 
our  ancestors  did  with  shiftless  farming ;  and  even  where  new 
woodland  is  cleared,  and  wheat  is  put  into  the  virgin  soil,  the 
crop  is  iniinitesimally  small.  The  true  cause  is  to  be  found  in 
the  attacks  of  insects,  and  nothing  else.  The  wheat  midge  and 
the  Hessian  fly  are  the  only  insects  which  have  attracted  much 
notice,  and  it  is  hence  currently  supposed  that  these  are  the 
only  important  depredators  which  we  have  in  our  wheat  fields. 
But,  a  few  years  since,  on  coming  to  examine  the  growing 


24  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

wheat,  the  learned  lecturer  had  been  surprised  to  find  in  every 
field,  multitudes  of  the  Chlorops,  Oscinis,  and  Thrips,  insects 
which  have  long  been  known  in  Europe  as  most  pernicious  to 
the  wheat  crops  there,  but  which  have  never  been  suspected  as 
occurring  upon  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Some  of  these  depre 
dators  are  preying  upon  it  at  every  stage  of  its  growth,  the 
root,  the  tender  blade,  the  stalk,  the  ear,  and  the  ripening 
grain  in  the  ear  all  having  particular  enemies  infesting  them. 
Now  originally,  when  our  country  was  covered  by  an  unbroken 
forest,  there  was  no  wheat  here,  nor  other  plant  of  the  wheat 
kind,  on  which  such  insects  could  subsist ;  consequently  when 
the  lands  were  first  cleared  and  sowed  to  wheat  a  bountiful 
harvest  was  gathered.  But  the  thrifty  fields  of  this  grain,  with 
which  our  country  then  abounded,  invited  these  insects  to 
them.  One  after  another  arriving  and  finding  here  an  ample 
supply  of  its  favorite  food,  would  remain,  ever  afterwards  lay 
ing  the  crop  under  contribution  for  its  support.  Thus,  as  these 
enemies  successively  penetrated  the  country  and  became  estab 
lished  in  our  wheat  fields,  their  productiveness  gradually  dimin 
ished,  till  at  length  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  grow  this  grain 
with  profit,  and  in  all  the  older  sections  of  our  country  its 
cultivation  has  long  been  abandoned.  To  form  some  idea  of 
the  immense  losses  these  pests  are  occasioning,  look  at  the 
wheat  midge,  which  has  been  ravaging  our  fields  for  the  past 
twenty-five  years.  To  appearance  it  is  an  insignificant  little 
yellow  fly,  only  a  fourth  the  size  of  a  mosquito ;  but  though  it 
seems  so  powerless  and  inert,  it  was  able  in  New  York  State, 
in  1854,  to  destroy  wheat  to  the  value  of  over  $15,000,000,  or 
nearly  as  much,  probably,  as  the  whole  city  of  New  Haven  is 
worth,  with  all  its  houses,  buildings,  and  lots.  If  an  invading 
army  had  destroyed  property  to  this  value,  how  the  whole 
country  would  have  been  aroused  !  Multiply  this  tremendous 
loss  by  that  sustained  in  all  the  States,  and  what  a  result  is 
there  for  our  contemplation  !  The  wheat  midge,  however,  is, 
sad  to  say,  not  our  only  insect  enemy,  for  the  name  of  the  army 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  25 

is  legion.  And  what  lias  rendered  the  situation  of  our  farmers 
and  fruit-growers  most  vexatious,  they  have  been  obliged  to 
remain  in  ignorance,  no  definite  information  respecting  the 
names  and  habits  of  these  creatures,  from  which  they  are  sus 
taining  such  losses,  being  accessible  to  them.  Only  two  works 
on  this  subject  have  ever  appeared,  and  neither  of  these  has 
been  on  sale  in  the  bookstores.  One  of  them  is  Dr.  Harris's 
Treatise,  originally  prepared  as  part  of  the  Natural  History 
Survey  of  Massachusetts.  The  other  is  Dr.  Fitch's  own  Report 
on  Noxious  Insects,  published  each  year  in  the  New  York 
Agricultural  Society's  Transactions,  and  also  issued  separately, 
two  volumes  being  now  completed. 

The  insect  is  divided  into  three  principal  parts,  viz. :  head, 
thorax  or  fore-body,  and  abdomen  or  hind-body.  The  head  in 
insects  is  furnished  with  antennas  or  horns,  which  possess  re 
markable  sensitiveness.  Thus,  an  ichneumon  fly,  by  touching 
them  against  the  outer  surface  of  the  bark  of  a  tree  in  which  a 
worm  is  lying,  detects  not  merely  its  presence,  but  its  exact 
position,  although  imbedded  two  or  three  inches  in  the  solid 
wood,  so  accurately  that  with  its  long  ovipositor  or  sting  it  is 
able  to  pierce  the  wood  to  where  the  worm  lies,  and  puncture 
its  skin  and  insert  an  egg  therein.  And  two  bees  or  ants 
meeting,  by  merely  touching  their  horns  together,  know  if  they 
belong  to  the  same  hive  or  hillock — for  all  the  world  as  though 
there  was  a  system  of  Freemasonry  among  them,  whereby  they 
know  on  this  shaking  hands  as  it  were,  whether  they  are 
brothers  or  strangers  to  each  other. 

The  most  wonderful  thing  about  insects  is  their  metamor 
phoses,  or  transformations,  the  same  individual  appearing  at  dif 
ferent  times  under  forms  as  different  as  for  a  serpent  to  change 
into  an  eagle.  There  are  four  of  these  forms  or  stages  in  the 
growth  of  insects  : — first,  the  egg ;  second,  the  larva  or  growing 
stage,  when  it  is  a  worm  or  caterpillar ;  third,  the  pupa  or 
dormant  stage,  when  it  is  often  enclosed  in  a  cocoon  ;  fourth, 
the  perfect  insect,  when  it  is  a  fly,  butterfly,  beetle,  bee,  &c. 
2 


26  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

An  insect  may  be  known  to  be  in  its  perfect  or  mature  state 
when  it  has  wings ;  or  if  it  be  a  wingles  variety  its  maturity  is 
known  by  its  depositing  eggs.  In  grasshoppers,  plant-bugs, 
and  leaf-hoppers,  the  changes  are  less  complete,  they  never 
having  the  form  of  a  worm,  the  young  resembling  the  mature 
insect,  only  being  smaller  and  without  wings. 

Insects,  however  much  we  may  despise  them,  have  a  real  use 
in  the  domain  of  nature — destroying  all  that  is  dead,  and  check 
ing  the  increase  of  all  that  is  living  in  the  vegetable  world. 
Without  them  the  earth  would  immediately  be  overrun  with 
plant  life.  And  hence  those  trees  and  plants  which  it  is  man's 
object  to  cultivate,  come  to  be  attacked  by  those  insects  whose 
office  it  is  to  repress  these  kinds  of  vegetation.  To  be  success 
ful  in  his  labors,  therefore,  man  is  obliged  to  combat  those 
insects  which  thus  prey  upon  his  crop.  To  do  this  he  must 
study  their  habits  and  transformations. 

Dr.  Fitch  closed  by  stating,  that  the  more  he  examined  these 
creatures,  the  more  confimed  he  became  in  the  opinion,  that 
there  is  no  injurious  insect  but  that,  when  we  become  ac 
quainted  with  all  the  details  of  its  history  and  habits,  we  shall 
be  able  to  detect  some  assailable  point  and  devise  some  meas 
ure  by  which  either  the  insect  can  be  destroyed  or  the  vegeta 
tion  can  be  shielded  from  its  attacks.  We  shall  discover  that, 
although  he  may  be  invulnerable  in  every  other  part,  no  nsgis 
protects  his  heel,  and  if  we  strike  Achilles  there,  we  inflict  a 
death  wound.  A  prolonged  outburst  of  applause,  on  the  close 
of  the  lecture,  attested  how  deeply  Dr.  Fitch  had  interested 
the  audience. 

Subsequently,  in  confirmation  of  Dr.  Fitch's  statement,  that 
it  was  not  a  deterioration  of  the  soil  nor  change  of  our  climate 
that  prevented  our  growing  such  crops  of  wheat  now  as  for 
merly,  but  was  the  insect  enemies  of  this  grain  with  which  the 
country  has  become  overrun,  a  gentleman  from  Maine  reported 
that  in  a  remote  part  of  that  State,  where  a  district  has  recently 
been  newly  cleared,  distant  from  where  wheat  has  ever  been 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  27 

grown,  the  finest  crops  of  this  grain  are  now  produced.  Another 
gentleman  stated,  he  was  satisfied  tljis  was  also  the  true  solu 
tion  of  a  fact  that  appeared  quite  singular  and  unaccountable, 
viz. :  that  here  on  some  of  the  old  lands  of  Connecticut,  excel 
lent  crops  of  wheat  have  recently  been  grown.  The  cultivation 
of  this  grain  had  been  so  long  abandoned  here,  that  all  these 
wheat  insects  have  probably  disappeared,  and  thus  released 
from  them,  these  crops  that  have  occasioned  so  much  surprise, 
have  grown  on  the  old  lands  here,  without  any  special  manur 
ing  or  other  management  of  the  crop. 

Dr.  FITCH  lectured  again  this  afternoon,  his  subject  this  time 
being  "Insects  injurious  to  Grain  Crops,  with  a  Particular  Ac 
count  of  the  Wheat  Midge  and  Hessian  Fly." 

He  said  that  our  losses  are  immeasurably  greater  from  insects 
than  those  of  European  nations ;  as  we  have  not  only  our  own, 
but  many  foreign  ones  introduced  here,  and  these  latter  often 
greatly  surpass  in  their  destructiveness,  with  us,  anything 
recorded  of  them  in  their  native  haunts.  And  yet,  because  of 
not  being  so  overcrowded  in  population,  they  were  not  felt  so 
much ;  for  there  the  loss  of  one-eighth  of  a  crop  would  be 
regarded  as  a  great  national  disaster,  whilst  here  it  would 
scarcely  be  noticed. 

The  Hessian  fly  was  undoubtedly  introduced  into  this  coun 
try,  as  at  first  supposed,  in  some  straw  used  for  package,  by 
the  Hessian  troops  which  landed  at  Flatbush,  L.  I.,  August, 
1776.  The  few  insects  thus  brought  here  multiplied  so  that 
in  1779  the  wheat  fields  in  that  town  were  destroyed.  And 
from  thence  it  gradually  spread  in  every  direction,  advancing 
about  twenty  miles  a  year,  penetrating  to  every  part  of  our 
country.  It  is  a  small,  white,  footless  worm,  which  changes  to 
a  pupa  resembling  a  flax-seed,  found  at  the  crown  of  the  root 
in  autumn  and  winter,  and  at  the  next  June  another  generation 
nestles  at  the  lower  joints  of  the  stalks.  Within  a  year  or  two 
of  its  first  arrival  in  any  given  place,  most  of  the  surrounding 


28  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

wheat  fields  were  destroyed,  and  its  ravages  usually  continued 
for  several  years,  or  until  its  parasitic  enemies  had  multiplied 
sufficiently  to  subdue  it.  It  has  frequently  reappeared  here 
and  there,  but  for  many  years  now,  little  has  been  heard  of  it. 
This  is  probably  the  same  insect  that  is  mentioned  by  Duhamel 
as  having  greatly  injured  the  wheat  in  Switzerland  in  1732,  and 
again  in  1755  ;  but  during  the  half  century  of  its  worst  ravages 
here,  it  lurked  undetected  in  Europe,  till  in  1833  it  ravaged 
a  part  of  Germany,  and  in  1834  was  found  by  Prof.  Dana  along 
the  Mediterranean  in  every  wheat  field  he  visited  in  Spain, 
Italy,  and  on  the  Island  of  Minorca ;  and  finally,  in  1852,  much 
damage  was  caused  by  it  upon  the  River  Volga,  where  its 
parasite  was  also  found  accompanying  it.  Such  is,  in  brief,  all 
that  is  known  of  the  European  history  of  this  insect,  which, 
introduced  upon  our  side  of  the  Atlantic,  has  caused  a  loss  of 
uncounted  millions  of  dollars. 

The  wheat  midge  has  long  been  known  in  England.  It  was 
originally  supposed  to  be  a  sort  of  mildew  which  thus  blighted 
the  wheat,  and  was  only  ascertained  to  be  an  insect  in  1771. 
And  in  1797,  Mr.  Kirby,  searching  for  the  Hessian  fly,  partially 
traced  out  the  habits  of  this  insect.  It  was  doubtless  intro 
duced  into  this  country  in  some  unthreshed  wheat  brought  to 
Canada,  for  it  was  first  noticed  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
also  in  Northern  Vermont,  in  the  year  1830,  though  it  did  not 
multiply  and  become  so  destructive  as  to  attract  public  notice 
until  nine  years  later,  when  it  also  began  to  extend  itself,  and 
has  now  overspread  Canada  and  all  the  Northern  States  as  flu- 
west  as  into  Indiana.  Its  larva  is  a  minute  footless  worm,  or 
maggot,  of  a  bright  orange-yellow  color,  found  in  numbers  upon 
the  young  kernels  in  the  wheat  heads,  causing  them  to  be  small 
and  shrivelled,  to  such  an  extent  some  years  that  many  fields 
are  not  harvested,  every  kernel  being  blighted.  In  England 
the  midge  is  preyed  upon  by  a  parasitic  insect,  a  small  kind  of 
ichneumon  fly,  which  rapidly  multiplies  whenever  the  midge 
becomes  numerous,  and  thus  quells  and  subdues  it,  just  as  the 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  29 

Hessian  fly  with  us  is  now  kept  in  subjection  by  its  parasite. 
And  Dr.  Fitch  thinks  the  reason  why  the  midge  is  so  vastly 
more  numerous  and  destructive  here  than  it  ever  has  been 
in  Europe  is,  because  this  parasitic  destroyer,  its  inveterate 
enemy,  has  never  reached  our  country.  Thus  we  have  received 
the  evil  without  the  remedy.  There  are  two  ways  by  which 
it  is  in  our  power  to  abate  this  evil ;  by  destroying,  1st,  the 
fly  itsel  ;  and  2d,  its  larva.  If,  early  in  June,  in  the  evening, 
when  the  flies  in  a  swarm  are  dancing  about  the  wheat  heads 
to  deposit  their  eggs  therein,  the  field  be  swept  over  with  a 
suitable  kind  of  net,  the  flies  may  be  captured  therein,  and 
destroyed  in  such  multitudes  that  the  few  that  are  missed  will 
be  able  to  do  little  injury  to  the  crop.  Of  the  larvae,  a  portion 
remain  in  the  wheat  heads  at  harvest,  and  are  taken  into  the 
barn,  and  are  finally  gathered  among  the  screenings  of  the  fan 
ning  mill,  which  should  be  burned,  or  fed  to  poultry,  and  not 
thrown  out,  as  they  usually  are,  among  the  litter  of  the  barn 
yard,  where  they  mature  and  hatch  another  swarm  of  flies. 
The  other  portion  of  these  larvae  have  at  harvest  descended  to 
the  ground,  where  they  repose  slightly  under  the  surface  till 
they  hatch  into  flies  the  following  May ;  and  it  has  been  thought 
that  by  plowing  the  wheat  stubble  they  would  be  buried  so 
deep  as  to  smother  them ;  but  experiments  are  needed,  to 
demonstrate  whether  this  idea  is  well  founded — these  Iarva3 
being  very  tenacious  of  life.  Water  will  not  drown  them.  Dr. 
Fitch  has  kept  them  submerged  in  vials  of  water  three  months, 
and  then  on  placing  them  on  paper  they  begin  to  wriggle  and 
crawl  away. 

The  audience  being  invited  to  ask  questions  on  the  subject 
of  the  lecture,  if  so  disposed,  availed  themselves  of  the  permis 
sion.  Dr.  Fitch,  in  answer  to  sundry  queries,  said  that  neither 
sowing  lime  on  wheat  when  the  dew  was  on,  nor  sowing  salt, 
nor  using  sulphur  or  salt  in  the  granary,  nor  tobacco-water 
sprinkled  on  the  field,  were  specifics.  Donald  G.  Mitchell 
suggested,  as  it  was  uncertain  whether  deep  plowing  would 


30  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

destroy  the  larvae,  the  European  practice  of  paring  and  burn 
ing  the  surface  might  be  resorted  to,  in  the  stubble  of  wheat 
fields.  Dr.  Fitch  presumed  this  would  be  effectual,  as  the 
little  rascals  probably  can't  stand  fire  as  they  do  water. 

If  New  York  loses  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  a  year  from  the 
wheat  midge,  why  wouldn't  it  be  a  good  plan  to  send  Dr. 
Fitch  to  Europe  to  procure  the  great  foe  of  the  midge,  the 
ichneumon  fly  ?  This  latter  insect  sweeps  the  other  from  the 
very  face  of  the  earth ;  and  a  half-bushel  of  its  eggs  hatched 
on  Dr.  Fitch's  place  would  be  worth  its  weight  in  diamonds 
"  of  purest  ray  serene." 


THIRD  DAY.— FEB.  3,  1860. 

Mr.  EATON'S  lecture  on  vegetable  physiology  last  evening 
comprised  full  descriptions  of  the  seed,  root,  and  stem  of  plants; 
the  nature  and  growth  of  seeds ;  structure  of  roots ;  and  the  gen 
eral  structure  and  minute  anatomy  of  stems.  He  showed, 
among  other  things,  how  the  shape  of  trees  is  controlled. 
When  the  bud  at  the  end  of  the  stem  is  strongest,  the  shape  of 
the  tree  is  a  pyramid,  as  in  the  case  of  the  spruce  and  fir. 
Where  there  is  no  one  strongest  terminal  bud,  there  is  no  prin 
cipal  trunk  in  the  upper  part  of  the  tree,  so  that  the  tree  is 
rounded  at  the  top,  as  the  elm. 

The  morning  lecture  to-day  was  by  Dr.  FITCH,  and  was 
highly  interesting.  And  here  let  me  state,  that,  in  my  opinion, 
the  entomological  lectures  of  Dr.  Fitch  are  the  most  impor 
tant  of  this  course,  for  he  shows  the  habits  of,  and  suggests 
remedies  against,  the  insects  which  cause  losses  to  our  farmers 
to  a  fabulous  amount  annually ;  and  he  stands  almost  alone  in  his 
specialty.  The  Doctor's  lecture  to-day  was  on  the  insects  in 
jurious  to  fruit-trees.  There  are  at  present  known  to  us,  in  the 
United  States,  60  different  insects  which  prey  upon  the  apple, 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  31 

12  on  the  pear,  16  on  the  peach,  17  on  the  plum,  85  on  the 
cherry,  and  30  on  the  grape.  Prominent  among  these  is  the 
plum  weevil,  or  curculio,  which  Dr.  Fitch  stigmatized  as  the 
worst  insect  of  our  country  ;  for  though  the  midge  is  at  pres 
ent  causing  a  greater  amount  of  pecuniary  loss,  he  thought 
its  career  would  be  like  that  of  its  predecessor,  the  Hessian  fly, 
and  that  it  would  eventually  be  mastered  and  subdued  by  its 
parasite  destroyers.  Unlike  the  wheat  midge,  the  curculio  is  a 
native  insect  of  this  country,  which  has  now  been  known  up 
wards  of  a  century,  during  all  of  which  time  it  appears  to 
have  gradually  multiplied  and  increased  its  forces,  without  any 
important  cessations  or  intervals  in  its  ravages — no  parasite  de 
stroyer  of  it  having  ever  been  discovered  till  within  a  few 
months  past.  It  was  first  noticed  by  the  botanists  Collinson 
and  Bartram,  in  1746,  as  totally  destroying  the  nectarines 
in  and  about  Philadelphia,  while  the  plums  were  but  slightly 
molested.  Their  turn  came  next,  however,  and  each  subse 
quent  investigator  found  it  ravaging  a  different  section  of 
country.  Notwithstanding  the  volumes  written  upon  it,  we 
do  not  to  this  day  know  where  the  curculio  lives,  and  what  it 
is  doing  for  three-quarters  of  the  year.  All  that  is  currently 
known  of  it  is,  that  it  is  a  small  brown  and  white  beetle, 
which  makes  its  appearance  on  plum-trees  when  the  young  fruit 
is  half  grown ;  that  it  cuts  a  crescent-shaped  slit  upon  the  side 
of  the  fruit  and  drops  an  egg  into  the  wound,  from  which  egg  a 
small  white  worm  hatches,  which  burrows  in  the  fruit,  causing 
it  to  wilt  and  fall  from  the  tree,  whereupon  the  worm  crawls  in 
to  the  ground  to  repose  for  two  or  three  weeks  during  its  pupa 
state ;  and  that  it  comes  out  in  the  latter  part  of  July  a  beetle,  like 
the  parent  which  six  weeks  before  stung  the  fruit.  This,  which 
is  currently  supposed  to  be  the  main  and  essential  part  of  its 
history,  Dr.  Fitch  judges  to  be  quite  the  reverse ;  and  he  is 
convinced  that  if  there  were  no  fruit  for  the  curculio  to  eat,  it 
would  still  thrive  to  its  entire  satisfaction. 

In  New  England  and  New  York,  the  beetle  may  be  found 


32  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

abroad  the  last  of  March,  if  the  weather  is  fine,  though  usu 
ally  it  is  not  till  about  the  middle  of  May ;  and  in  a  week  or 
two  after  it  becomes  quite  common.  It  is  found  standing  or 
slowly  walking  upon  the  trunk  and  limbs  of  the  plum,  cherry, 
apple,  the  wild  thorn-apple,  the  butternut,  and  other  trees. 
Those  on  the  butternut  are  plumper  than  the  others.  From 
this  time  onward,  till  cold  weather  returns,  we  continue  to 
meet  with  it,  and  late  in  autumn  it  is  to  be  seen  on  the  flowers 
of  the  golden-rod  as  plentifully  as  at  any  time  through  the 
season.  When  the  young  fruit  appears,  in  June,  it  attacks  it 
with  the  skill  of  an  epicure,  selecting  the  choicest  varieties 
first.  Its  crescent-shaped  incision  is  the  signal  of  destruc 
tion,  as  was  the  crescent  banner  of  the  Moslem  of  old.  The 
slit  made,»one  egg  is  deposited  ;  and  but  one  slit  is  made  on  a 
fruit.  The  peach,  plum,  and  apple,  when  stung,  wilt  and  fall; 
but  the  cherry  and  thorn-apple  do  not.  This  is  because  the 
larger  fruit  contains  a  sufficient  amount  of  nourishment  to  ma 
ture  the  worm ;  while  the  smaller  ones  must  grow  on  to  elab 
orate  the  quantity  of  food  which  the  worm  needs.  It  is  a  fact 
not  generally  known,  that  apples  are  attacked  by  the  plum  cur- 
culio,  yet  so  great  are  the  losses  of  this  particular  fruit,  that  the 
lecturer  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  poorer  yield  of  our  or 
chards  now,  as  compared  with  heretofore,  is  due  to  this  insect. 
The  wilted  fruit  literally  covers  the  ground,  under  many  trees, 
the  fore  part  of  July.  Cut  into  this  fruit  and  you  will  find  the 
same  curculio  worm  therein  as  in  the  fallen  plums. 

From  the  fact  that  this  insect  comes  forth  three  weeks  be 
fore  there  is  any  fruit  ready  for  it  to  eat,  and  remains  after  the 
fruit  is  gone,  Dr,  Fitch  thinks  that  it  has  other  places  of  refuge 
to  cradle  its  young  besides  the  young  fruit.  In  fact,  it  is  well 
ascertained  that  it  breeds  in  the  black  knot  excrescences  on 
plum  and  cherry-trees,  as  eagerly  as  in  young  fruit.  Hence  it 
has  been  thought  to  cause  the  excrescences.  But  having  exam 
ined  the  black  knots  fully  in  every  stage  of  their  growth,  Dr. 
Fitch  says  decidedly  they  are  not  produced  by  this  or  any 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES.  33 

other  insect,  nor  are  they  a  vegetable  fungus,  but  are  purely  a 
local  disease  of  the  limbs,  in  which  the  bark  and  wood  are 
swollen  and  changed  to  a  spongy  substance,  but  without  any 
of  the  juiciness  which  belongs  to  young  fruit.  This  disease  has 
some  analogy  to  the  cancer  in  the  human  body,  and  its  cure  is 
the  same,  namely,  the  knife,  removing  the  diseased  part  totally, 
a>  soon  as  discovered. 

With  Melsheimer,  Dr.  Fitch  believes  that  the  curculio  breeds 
in  the  bark  as  well  as  the  fruit  of  trees,  for  on  a  specimen  of 
pear-wood  sent  him  some  years  ago,  his  microscope  revealed 
crescent  cuts  in  the  bark,  like  those  on  young  fruit,  in  which 
little  maggots  were  lying  side  by  side,  ready  to  eat  their  way 
onward  when  the  warmth  of  spring  revived  them. 

Within  six  months  D.  W.  Beadle,  of  St.  Catharine's,  C.  W., 
has  sent  the  Doctor  a  curculio  parasite,  which  is  furnished 
with  a  bristle-like  sting  with  which  it  pierces  the  black  knot 
to  where  the  curculio  larva  lies,  and  deposits  an  egg  in  the 
body  ol  the  latter,  to  hatch  and  gradually  kill  it.  The  late 
David  Thomas,  of  Union  Springs,  New  York,  first  recom 
mended  knocking  the  plum-tree  to  remove  weevils.  The  rem 
edy  is  partial,  but  not  infallible.  Mr.  A.  P.  Cumings,  of 
New  York,  recommends  to  syringe  the  trees  with  a  mixture 
of  four  gallons  lime-water,  four  gallons  tobacco-water,  one 
pound  whale-oil  soap,  and  four  ounces  sulphur.  The  tobacco 
and  soap  in  solution  Dr.  Fitch  thinks  good,  but  doubts  wheth 
er  the  other  ingredients  add  anything  to  the  value  of  the  mix 
ture.  There  is  much  testimony  to  substantiate  the  fact  that 
trees,  whose  limbs  project  over  water,  always  bear  fine  crops  of 
plums, — the  curculio  being  aware  that  its  young  will  drown  if 
the  fruit  drops  into  the  water. 

Another  important  insect  is  the  apple-tree  borer, — a  long 
grub  which  resides  under  the  bark  and  bores  into  the  solid 
wood,  sometimes  below,  but  usually  slightly  above  the  ground, 
and  is  two  or  three  years  in  getting  its  growth.  A  few  years 
since,  an  agent  of  one  of  our  large  nurseries  canvassed  Wash- 
2* 


34  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

ington  county,  N.  Y.,  disposing  of  trees  to  the  amount  of 
three  thousand  dollars.  More  than  half  of  these  trees  have 
since  been  destroyed  by  this  borer — a  direct  loss  of  $5,000 
from  this  insect  in  that  single  county,  in  addition  to  the  labor 
lost  in  planting  and  nursing  these  perished  trees.  This  must 
not  be  confounded  with  the  borer  in  the  roots  of  peach-trees, 
which  is  the  progeny  of  a  moth,  while  this  is  the  young  of  a 
brown,  long-horned  beetle,  having  two  white  stripes  the  whole 
length  of  its  back.  Specimens  of  this,  as  of  the  other  insects 
spoken  of  by  the  lecturer,  and  of  the  wood  as  perforated  by 
it,  were  passed  from  hand  to  hand  through  the  audience.  The 
common  soft  soap  rubbed  on  the  bark  of  the  trees  the  latter 
part  of  May,  prevents  the  attack  of  this  insect.  If  this  be  neg 
lected,  and  the  borers  have  made  a  lodgement  in  the  bark, 
their  presence  is  usually  shown  by  particles  like  sawdust,  which 
they  thrust  out  of  their  burrows,  and  when  discovered  they 
should  be  cut  out  with  a  knife  or  chisel  without  delay. 

The  regular  lecturer  of  the  afternoon  was  Mr.  Eaton,  who 
enlarged  on  the  physiology  of  vegetables,  giving  many  interest 
ing  illustrations  of  the  varied  forms  and  sizes  of  leaves,  and 
showing  how  the  juices  circulate  from  root  to  top,  and  the 
food  is  taken  and  appropriated.  He  spoke  of  the  essential 
distinctions  between  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  and 
of  their  relations  to  each  other.  Plants  are  continually  purify 
ing  the  air,  rendering  it  fit  for  animals  to  breathe  ;  and  plants 
also,  directly  or  indirectly,  supply  animals  with  all  their  food. 
Plants  live  directly  on  the  mineral  kingdom,  and  assimilate  to 
themselves  inorganic  matter ;  while  animals  consume  organ 
ized  matter  only. 

Mr.  Eaton  is  an  enthusiastic  botanist,  and  evidently  familiar 
with  his  subject. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  35 

FOURTH  DAY.— FEB.  4,  1860. 

A  change  has  been  made  in  our  programme.  Instead  of 
the  third  lecture  being  at  seven  in  the  evening,  it  is  transferred 
to  half  past  three  in  the  afternoon,  the  usual  hour  for  the  second 
lecture,  which,  by  this  arrangement,  will  be  changed  to  quarter 
past  two  o'clock,  the  two  lectures  following  one  after  the  other. 
This  plan  is  to  accommodate  persons  who,  living  out  of  town, 
wish  to  hear  .all  the  three  lectures,  and  return  home  before 
evening. 

Professor  JOHNSON  gave  a  lecture  last  evening,  on  the  "At 
mospheric  Food  of  Plants,"  reserving  a  consideration  of  their 
inorganic  food  for  this  morning.  The  larger  part  of  the  sub 
stance  of  plants  is,  as  every  intelligent  farmer  knows  nowa 
days,  obtained  from  the  air ;  a  fact  fully  proved  in  the  simple 
experiment  of  burning  wood  in  our  stoves.  A  log  of  wood  so 
large  as  to  require  two  men  to  roll  it  on  to  the  fire,  burns  away 
so  that,  after  a  time,  nothing  remains  but  a  shovelful  of  ashes, 
so  light  that  a  child  can  carry  it  out.  Where  has  the  log  gone 
to,  and  where  have  the  myriad  million  tons  of  trees,  plants, 
and  animal  bodies  gone  to,  which,  in  past  ages,  grew  upon  the 
earth  ?  They  have  each  borrowed  a  little  mineral  matter  from 
the  ground,  and  a  vast  quantity  of  gases  from  the  atmosphere, 
out  of  which  all  their  roots,  trunks,  stems,  leaves,  and  branches 
have,  with  wonderful  skill,  been  built.  The  animal  feeding 
upon  the  vegetable — it,  too,  has  built  up  its  structure  from  these 
same  original  elements.  In  both  plant  and  animal  the  season  of 
life  was  followed  by  a  time  of  death,  and  the  organized  body 
resolved  into  the  gases  and  minerals,  the  use  of  which  it  had 
borrowed  for  a  brief  season.  Professor  Johnson  explained  the 
gradual  progress  of  knowledge  of  atmospheric  constituents, 
until  one  day  none  of  its  ingredients  remained  unknown ;  and  by 
means  of  the  few  well-known  experiments  he  demonstrated  the 
nature  and  properties  of  each.  When  the  source  of  the  car 
bon  of  plants  was  still  a  matter  of  dispute,  Boussingault,  the 


36  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

great  French  chemist,  proved  that  only  from  carbonic  acid  was 
it  obtained,  by  the  experiment  of  supplying  to  a  plant  under  a 
bell-glass,  a  weighed  quantity  of  the  gas,  and  noting  the  pro 
portion  abstracted  by  the  plant.  The  weight  of  carbon  in  the 
soil  being  absolutely  known,  as  well  as  that  in  the  plant  itself, 
the  increase  of  quantity  at  an  advanced  stage  of  growth  was 
found  to  have  been  attained  at  the  expense  of  the  carbon  in 
the  gas,  and  not  of  that  in  the  soil. 

Mr.  Johnson  stated  it  as  the  practice  of  some  nurserymen  to 
place  a  piece  of  carbonate  of  ammonia,  as  large  as  a  walnut, 
upon  the  steam-pipes  of  the  hothouse.  The  ammonia  thus  evap 
orated  produces  in  the  leaves  of  all  the  plants  with  which  it 
comes  in  contact  a  splendid  deep-green  color,  and  greatly  pro 
motes  the  growth  of  the  plants. 

To-day  he  treated  on  the  ashes  of  plants,  and  in  the  course 
of  his  lecture  uttered  some  doctrines  which  sadly  conflict  with 
the  received  notions  which  are  to  be  found  floating  through 
our  agricultural  papers.  For  instance :  he  said  that,  chemi 
cally,  magnesia  is  not  injurious  to  crops  when  added  in  excess 
to  the  field.  The  noxious  effect  of  strong  magnesian  lime,  if 
any,  was  due  simply  to  a  mechanical  action  in  the  soil ;  this 
particular  lime  acting  in  some  wise  as  a  cement  when  moisten 
ed.  Again :  he  said  that  the  stiffness  of  straw  is  most  de 
cidedly  not  owing  to  an  abundance  of  silica  on  the  outside,  but 
to  "  the  denseness  of  cellular  tissue  in  the  stalk."  This  he  con 
sidered  proved  in  the  fact  that  we  get  from  the  leaves  of  the  oat 
and  other  plants  a  greater  proportion  of  silica  than  from  the 
stalk,  and  yet  all  leaves  are  pliant  and  soft.  And  the  addition 
of  wood-ashes,  caustic-lime,  and  other  alkalies  with  the  view  to 
making  soluble  silicates  for  the  use  of  the  plants,  is  a  piece  of 
useless  folly,  for  "  ah1  water  found  in  the  soil  contains  silicates 
and  silica  in  excess  beyond  the  wants  of  plants.  The  addition 
of  alkaline  silicates  to  the  soil  would  be  unavailing,  for  the  sili 
cates  would  be  decomposed  and  the  silica  rendered  insoluble." 
As  an  example,  he  stated  that  in  marshy  lands,  where  sedge 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  37 

and  otheraquatic  silici  cms  plants  grow,  the  addition  of  lime, 
which  removes  the  excess  of  silica  from  the  soil,  favors  the 
growth  of  less  silicious  plants.  The  silica  then  on  corn-stalks, 
cereal  crops,  bamboo,  rattan,  and  such-like,  he  deems  an  ex 
cretion.  The  "  lodging  "  of  crops  he  thinks  may  be  owing  to 
a  weakness  of  cellular  tissue,  which  may  arise  from  a  lack  of 
some  nutritive  matter  or  another,  or  from  excessive  transpira 
tion  of  water.  It  is  known  that  a  plant  sucks,  sponge-fashion, 
its  juices  from  the  soil,  through  the  extremities  of  its  roots  and 
rootlets.  In  this  water  all  sorts  of  mineral  matter  are  dissolved, 
and  with  them  a  certain  proportion  of  carbonic  acid  and  am 
monia  ;  well,  the  plant  has  a  very  wonderful  power  of  selecting 
from  this  soil-moisture  just  as  much  mineral  matter  as  it  needs 
for  its  growth,  and  of  rejecting  all  the  surplus.  Water,  how 
ever,  oozes  in,  by  the  principle  of  endosmose,  and  is  sucked  up 
ward  from  cell  surface  to  cell  surface,  until  it  gets  to  the  leaves, 
where  the  blowing  of  wind  and  the  shining  of  sun  upon  the 
leaf  surfaces  evaporate  the  water  through  the  little  pores, 
stomata,  which  communicate  with  the  outside  air.  The  plant 
wants  only  just  so  much  juice  passing  through  it  at  once,  and 
if  an  excess  is  poured  through  throughout  a  warm,  damp  sea 
son,  you  see  how  likely  it  is  that  its  constitution  should  be 
weakened.  Recent  German  experiments  which  have  come  to 
Professor  Johnson's  observation  suggest  that  the  beneficial 
effects  of  salt,  plaster  of  Paris,  and  other  mineral  fertilizers,  are 
due  to  their  preventing  this  excessive  transpiration,  or  rushing 
of  an  excess  of  water  through  the  plant.  Mr.  John  Johnston 
sows  five  bushels  of  salt  on  his  wheat-fields,  "  to  give  stiffness 
to  the  straw  and  prevent  rust."  The  old  farmer  observed  the 
effect;  our  chemical  friends  think  they  have  discovered  the 
cause. 

Moreover,  what  Professor  Mapes  will  scout  as  sheer  heresy, 
Johnson  says  that  the  mineral  phosphate  from  Estramadura 
and  elsewhere  is  as  good  for  fertilizing  crops,  if  it  be  prop 
erly  divided  mechanically,  as  bone  phosphate — thus  directly 


38  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

combating  the  Professor's  theory  of  "the  progression  of 
primaries  by  their  use  in  organic  nature."  Mr.  Johnson  is 
a  young  man,  and  a  bold  man  ;  and  if  lie  has  enough  facts  to 
base  these  several  assertions  upon,  I  don't  blame  him  for  having 
the  manliness  to  proclaim  them.  I  must  say  I  like  this  transpi 
ration  theory,  for  it  explains  a  good  many  little  matters  for 
which  a  reasonable  solution  has  not  heretofore  been  afforded. 
As  to  the  stalk-coating  affair,  and  the  mineral  phosphate  busi 
ness,  the  case  does  not  as  yet  seem  to  me  fully  proven. 


FIFTH  DAY.— FEB.  6,  1860. 

The  Rev.  CHAUNCEY  E.  GOODKICH,  in  his  lecture,  on  Saturday, 
considered  the  potato-disease  in  all  its  several  relations,  a  branch 
of  investigation  on  which  many  years  of  practice  enable  him 
to  speak  understandingly. 

The  potato,  in  a  state  of  nature,  is  found  on  the  sides  of  the 
Andes,  and  in  the  adjacent  valleys.  At  the  base  of  the  mountains 
are  the  tamarind,  yam,  and  banana ;  the  melon,  corn,  tomato, 
and  pepper  come  higher  up;  and  above  these  is  the  belt  where 
the  potato  thrives  most  vigorously,  the  climate  being  equable, 
and  the  root  not  exposed  to  the  frosts.  When  the  same  varie 
ties  of  potatoes,  especially  those  which  ripen  at  nearly  the  same 
time,  are  cultivated  together,  they  are  variously  subject  to  dis 
ease.  Thus  the  old  "  Early  Mountain  June,"  "  Early  Pink-Eye" 
or  (Dyckman),  of  the  early  kinds ;  and  the  "  Carter,"  and 
"Western  Red  "  of  the  late  sorts,  are  peculiarly  liable  to  dis 
ease. 

If  you  plant  alongside  them,  however,  the  imported  "  Rough 
Purple  Chili,"  the  "Garnet  Chili,"  the  "Black  Diamond," 
and  the  "  Early  Hartford,"  they  show  a  much  hardier  consti 
tution.  And  this  difference,  Mr.  Goodrich  thinks,  is  due  to  a 
difference  in  vital  energy,  which  may  be  owing  to  a  course  of 
replanting,  without  recourse  to  the  seed-ball,  unreasonably  pro 
tracted.  Very  wet,  cold  seasons,  such  as  1857 ;  or  hot,  damp 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  39 

ones,  like  1850,  1851,  and  1855,  cause  rot ;  so  do  sudden  alter 
nations  of  temperature — for  instance,  from  dry,  hot  weather,  to 
wet,  cold,  and  windy ;  and  these  changes  destroy  the  cucum 
ber,  squash,  melon,  tomato,  and  egg-plant,  as  well  as  the  potato. 
The  years  1847,  1848,  1854,  and  1856,  and  especially  1852, 
were  favorable  ones. 

Soil  as  well  as  climate  has  much  to  do  with  the  nature  of 
crops.  Gravel  or  loamy  soils  are  best,  especially  when  they 
contain  a  large  proportion  of  vegetable  matter.  Sods  or  straw 
laid  in  the  furrow  over  the  seed  are  good,  because  they  main 
tain  an  equal  temperature  beneath  them.  It  is  bad  to  apply 
much  stable  manure  or  guano.  Of  exposures  a  northern  is  best ; 
a  southern  heats  too  much,  and  an  eastern  heats  too  rapidly 
after  a  cold  night.  Early  planting  is  best,  as  it  gives  the  plant 
a  slow,  hardy  growth  in  the  comparatively  wet  weather  early 
in  the  season,  which  fits  it  better  to  withstand  the  sudden 
transitions  of  midsummer. 

Early  maturing  sorts  are  the  surest  in  bad  seasons.  Potatoes 
require  deep  plowing,  and  should  be  subsoiled  when  a  few 
inches  high.  Plant  six  inches  deep  if  your  soil  be  dry,  culti 
vate  frequently  until  the  plants  are  in  flower,  and  never  after 
ward.  Plant  free-growing  sorts  tjiree  by  three  feet,  to  give 
full  quantity  of  air  and  light.  The  pieces  of  seed  should  not 
be  less  than  three  ounces  in  weight,  each,  and  cut  them  length 
wise,  never  across  the  potato. 

Usual  Signs  of  Disease. — A  wilted  leaf  on  the  young 
rosettes  of  the  plant,  which  are  the  tenderest  parts,  and  first 
show  disease.  2d.  Steel-blue  points  on  some  of  the  older  and 
outer  leaves,  and  yellow  iron-rust  stains  on  the  inner  leaves. 
3d.  Mildew,  which  quickly  follows  these  signs,  and  which,  if  not 
arrested,  kills  the  whole  plant.  These  are  the  signs  of  disease 
produced  by  cold  and  wet  weather  changes. 

The  hot,  muggy  atmosphere  causes  an  intense  dark  green 
color  in  the  leaf,  with  spotted  blotches,  which  soon  turn  into 
mildew,  and  kill  the  plant.  In  the  case  of  cool  weather, 


40  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

the  flowers  fall  without  setting  fruit,  while  in  the  hot  and  damp 
climate  seed-balls  set  freely,  but,  with  the  whole  plant,  fall  a 
prey  to  mildew. 

The  cause  of  disease  Mr.  Goodrich  believes  to  be  the  facility 
with  which  a  weakened  cellular  structure  will  pass  into  fermen 
tation,  in  presence  of  albuminous  matter.  For  a  remedy  he 
advises  to  mow  off,  or  pull  up  the  tops,  when  it  is  evident  that 
the  weather  will  not  speedily  change  for  the  better,  but  even 
this  will  be  unavailing  in  some  cases  ;  so  that  to  my  mind  all 
this  goes  to  show  that  our  only  remedy  is  to  cultivate  as  well 
as  we  know  how,  choosing  new  and  hardy  sorts  of  potatoes, 
planting  early,  and  trust  to  chance  for  the  rest. 

The  mowing  of  tops  has  been  tried  over  and  over  again,  with 
sometimes  success  and  sometimes  the  reverse ;  and  so  have  a 
thousand  other  remedies,  each  of  which  has  in  turn  been  pro 
claimed  a  specific.  A  prize-essay  in  the  Royal  Society's  Jour 
nal  for  1858,  gives  us  to  understand  that  deep  planting  is  the 
true  and  only  remedy ;  and  yet  I  have  planted  deep — and  so 
have  thousands  of  others — and  yet  lost  a  crop.  Mr.  Goodrich 
has  spent  years  in  close  observation,  and  accumulated  a  fund 
of  information,  but  I  venture  to  say  that  even  he  has  not  yet 
explained  this  mysterious  disease,  its  origin  and  antidotes,  so 
clearly  that  he  who  runs  may  read. 

This  morning  Mr.  EATON  spoke  briefly  about  flowers  and 
fruits,  showing  how  the  pollen,  or  yellow  dust  of  the  flowers, 
acts  on  the  ovules  or  rudimentary  seeds  ;  causing  them  to  de 
velop  into  seeds  containing  an  embryo,  and  capable  of  grow 
ing  up  into  new  plants. 

From  this  he  went  on  to  the  subject  of  hybridization,  and  then 
of  grafting.  Grafting  has  been  practically  known  for  many  cen 
turies — in  fact  since  the  world  was  young  ;  but  the  theory  was 
left  to  botanists  to  discover.  Between  the  bark  and  wood  are 
what  are  called  cambium  layers,  or  the  growing  part  of  the 
tree,  the  one  which  possesses  the  most  active  vitality.  Un- 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES.  41 

less  these  cambium  layers  of  the  tree  and  graft  are  brought 
together,  no  union  will  result ;  nor  will  there  be  one  from  the 
contact  of  very  different  trees,  such  as  a  pear-graft  on  an  oak. 
The  reason  for  this  is,  that  the  cellular  tissues  of  the  two  are 
so  very  different  that  there  is  no  probability  of  making  a  fit, 
any  more  than  one  can  fit  a  sphere  to  an  octahedron.  Pears 
graft  well  on  quince,  thornbush,  and  shadberry.  They  can  be 
grafted  on  the  apple,  but  not  profitably.  The  peach  goes  on  to 
the  nectarine,  and  the  plum  to  the  cherry.  There  are  instances 
of  natural  grafting,  as  with  the  ivy  when  two  branches  cross 
and  rub  the  bark  off  so  as  to  expose  the  cambium  layers.  Of 
different  grafts,  of  course  the  best  is  that  which  provides  for 
the  greatest  contact  of  the  layers. 

Seeds  are  of  varied  vitality.  Oily  seeds  do  not  keep  well 
because  their  oleaginous  contents  are  liable  to  become  rancid. 
Thus  the  seeds  of  coffee,  magnolia,  clove,  and  such  like,  must 
be  soon  planted  or  never.  Seeds  require  warmth  and  moisture, 
and  if  kept  away  from  warmth,  they  often  will  keep  for  years 
and  years.  Cucumber  seeds  have  been  kept  seventeen  years ; 
corn,  thirty  ;  French  beans,  thirty-three  ;  and  from  one  bag  of 
seeds  the  Jardiu  des  Plantes  was  supplied  with  sensitive  plants 
for  sixty  years. 

To  keep  seeds  well  for  the  longest  possible  time,  gather  them 
when  fully  ripe,  and  keep  them  cool  and  dry.  How  wonderful 
the  provisions  of  Nature  for  the  dispersion  of  seeds  !  Some  are 
furnished  with  feathery  wings  or  silken  down,  with  which  they 
float  along  on  every  zephyr ;  others  have  barbed  points,  or 
hooks,  to  catch  and  cling  to  passing  animals  ;  others  have  elas 
tic  capsules  or  seed-bags,  which,  when  brushed  against,  burst 
suddenly  apart  and  scatter  the  contents  abroad ;  and  a  thou 
sand  other  methods  might  be  named,  alike  curious  and  admi 
rable. 


42  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 


SIXTH  DAY.— FEB.  7,  1860. 

Professor  Joiixsox  lias  boldly  set  himself  in  array  against  a 
new  theory  of  Liebig's,  for  one  thing,  and  scouts  the  utility  of 
soil-analysis,  for  another.     Those  who  have  read  Liebig's  recent 
pamphlet  on  "  Modern  Agriculture,"  will   remember  his   doc 
trine  that  mineral  matters  are  not  in  a  soluble  state  in  the  soil ; 
in  support  of  which  he   quotes   the    experiment   of  passing 
through  a  sample  of  fertile  soil  water  holding  in  solution  phos 
phoric  acid  and  other  plant  foods,  and  thereby  removing  the 
salts  entirely.     The  formerly  soluble  mineral  matters  he  sup 
poses  to  have  been  made  insoluble  in  the  passage  through,  and 
putting  this  and  that  together,  he  says  that  if  this  be  the  case, 
why  then,  plants  must  actually  have  the  power  of  taking  in  the 
insoluble  material  which  they  need  for  their  growth,  and  mak 
ing  it  soluble  after  it  gets  within  their  spongioles.     Johnson 
thinks  Liebig's  theory  would  be  very  pretty  if  the  little  if 
were  removed.     In  other  words,  he  says  that  Liebig's  experi 
ment  was  rudely  performed,  and  that  the  mineral  matter  was 
not  and  never  can  be  entirely  removed  from  the  water,  and 
hence  Liebig's  superstructural  argument  falls,  like  the  Pember- 
ton  mills,  for  want  of  a  sound  basis.     He  says  he  knows  of 
beans   and  other  plants  having  been  grown  and  ripened  in 
naught  but  a  watery  solution  of  mineral  and  organic  food — a 
fact  which  goes  far  towards  proving  that  soluble   matter  is 
used  to  full  advantage  by  plants  when  they  can  get  it.     Al 
though  I  do  obeisance  to  Liebig,  I  think  Johnson  is  right  in 
this  instance,  and  so  I  fancy  do  many  others.     As  to  soil-an 
alysis,  Johnson  reasons  thus :  One  foot  deep  of  the  soil  in  an 
acre  weighs  2,000,000  pounds ;  a  crop  of  wheat  will  remove 
say  200  pounds  ;  if  that  200  pounds  be  not  in  an  available  state, 
no  crop  will  grow.     To  know  if  there  be  enough  for  the  crop, 
you  take  a  little  sample,  say  100  or  1,000  grains,  and  analyse 
it.     Now,  does  any  man  living  expect  the  chemist  to  tell,  by 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  43 

even  the  most  miraculously  sensitive  balances  or  tests  of  the 
infinitesimal  sample,  whether  the  2,000,000  pounds  contain 
enough  phosphoric  acid,  or  ammonia,  or  other  ingredients 
to  raise  a  crop  ?  Take  a  barren  soil,  for  instance,  or  one 
called  so,  on  which  the  application  of  400  pounds  of  guano  will 
make  all  the  difference  of  sterility  or  a  crop.  Now,  can  a 
chemist  tell  in  his  laboratory,  by  testing  100  grains  of  that  soil, 
taken  promiscuously  from  all  parts  of  the  field,  whether  the 
guano  had  or  had  not  been  added  ?  Verily  not,  says  Professor 
Johnson.  And  so  our  young  agricultural  chemist  takes,  issue 
on  the  question,  and  is  prepared  to  do  battle  with  our  beauti 
ful  pet  theory  d  Voutrance.  He  thinks  that  if  one  would  take 
50  pounds  of  soil,  and  wash  it  with  an  enormous  quantity  of 
water,  to  dissolve  out  the  soluble  salts — a  little  job  which 
would  take  at  least  a  fortnight,  and  might  a  month — he  might, 
by  analysis,  find  whether  there  was  a  great  excess  or  deficiency 
of  plant  food  in  the  field  from  which  the  sample  came.  But 
the  cost  and  trouble  of  the  experiment  are  serious  objections 
to  putting  the  scheme  into  practice. 

The  most  fertile  soils  contain  the  finest  particles;  or,  in  other 
words,  soils  are  like  linen,  better  for  having  fine  texture. 
Most  soils  are  deficient  mechanically  rather  than  chemically. 
There  is  great  store  of  plant  food,  but  not  finely  enough  divid 
ed.  A  field,  therefore,  which,  in  a  certain  state  of  pulveriza 
tion,  will  produce  15  bushels  of  wheat,  would,  or  should,  yield 
30  if  worked  up  twice  as  fine.  Why  ?  Because  there  is  twice 
the  amount  of  surface  of  particles  exposed  to  the  action  of 
heat,  and  cold,  and  rain,  and  therefore  twice  as  much  plant 
food  set  free.  Take  your  multiplication  table  and  figure  up 
this  idea  as  far  as  you  like,  and  then  you  will  see  the  use  of 
sub-soil  plows,  and  clod-crushers,  and  good  harrows,  and  deep 
plowing,  and  all  these  modern  contrivances  for  breaking  up 
our  fields  into  a  good  seed-bed. 


44  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

Last  evening  the  Temple  was  crowded  to  hear  Mr.  WILDER'S 
excellent  address  on  American  Pomology — a  topic  on  which 
no  one  in  America  can  speak  more  understandingly  than  the 
President  of  the  National  Pomological  Congress. 

Mr.  Wilder  commenced  by  saying  that  he  had  accepted 
the  polite  invitation  of  Professor  Porter,  at  considerable  incon 
venience,  for  the  purpose  of  bearing  his  testimony  in  favor  of 
the  present  course  of  lectures.  Whatever  might  be  thought 
by  profound  scholars  of  the  enterprise,  he  entertained  no  doubt 
that  the  mass  of  our  practical  and  intelligent  citizens  would 
welcome  it  as  the  harbinger  of  a  brighter  day  in  the  cause  of 
progressive  and  general  education.  The  honor  of  inaugurating 
this  course  belongs  to  gentlemen  of  Yale  College — an  institu 
tion  second  to  no  other  in  this  land  for  large  contributions  to 
the  Republic  of  Letters,  for  discoveries  in  the  natural  sciences, 
and  for  their  application  to  the  rural  arts. 

Few  subjects  exhibit  so  remarkably  the  progress  of  civiliza 
tion  as  the  increase  of  fine  fruits.  In  the  progress  of  pomology 
two  facts  are  worthy  of  special  notice  :  First,  the  rapid  multi 
plication  of  varieties;  secondly,  the  high  character  of  our 
criterion  or  standard  of  excellence.  The  lecturer  here  gave  a 
historical  account  of  the  progress  of  fruit-raising,  both  in 
Europe  and  in  our  own  country,  mentioning  that  the  first 
Horticultural  Societies  in  our  own  land  were  the  Pennsylva- 
nian,  and  Massachusetts,  in  1829,  and  that  of  New  Haven, 
in  1830.  Now  there  are  more  than  1,000  agricultural  and 
horticultural  societies,  all  laboring  together,  and  making  po 
mology  a  prominent  object  of  support.  In  1817  there  were  no 
nurseries  of  any  note  in  New  England  ;  now  there  are  many. 
Then  Western  New  York  was  just  beginning  to  be  settled  ; 
now  Rochester  is  the  great  pomological  emporium  of  our 
country,  and  contains  the  largest  commercial  nursery  in  the 
world.  It  is  estimated  that  the  nurseries  of  Onondnga  and 
adjoining  counties  contain  fifty  millions  of  trees  for  sale.  Fruit 
was  formerly  a  luxury  ;  now  it  is  numbered  among  the  common 


TALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  45 

bounties  of  Providence,  and  the  most  humble  cottage  is  rarely 
without  a  fruit-tree  or  a  grape-vine. 

Our  country  has  taken  a  leading  part  in  this  enterprise. 
Native  fruits  are  fast  superseding  foreign  varieties.  The  trees 
and  plants  of  a  country  flourish  better  at  home  than  elsewhere ; 
hence  all  our  efforts  are  being,  and  should  be,  put  forth,  to  get 
new  native  sorts  of  first  quality.  Of  the  36  kinds  of  apples 
recommended  by  the  American  Pomological  Society  for  gene 
ral  cultivation,  30  are  natives ;  so  are  10  out  of  the  14  plums, 
half  the  pears,  and  all  the  strawberries.  Formerly  our  only 
native  grapes  were  the  Catawba  and  Isabella  ;  now  they  are  re 
ceived  in  such  quantities  from  the  South  and  West,  that  a 
Boston  dealar  buys  two  and  a  half  tons  at  one  time  for  his  own 
trade.  A  mania  now  exists  for  American  sorts,  some  of  which 
will  doubtless  prove  excellent. 

A  kindred  subject  is  the  manufacture  of  native  wine.  A  Bos 
ton  manufacturer  produces  annually,  from  the  wild  grapes 
grown  on  the  banks  of  Charles  river,  20,000  gallons;  Con 
necticut  manufactures  annually  200,000  gallons ;  Ohio,  800,000 
gallons ;  and  one  vine-grower  at  Los  Angelos,  Cal.,  manu 
factures  annnally  2,000  barrels  from  his  own  vineyard.  Mis 
souri,  in  addition  to  her  vineyards,  has  five  millions  of  acres 
suited  to  grape  culture. 

All  the  strawberries  used  to  be  brought  from  the  fields,  and 
not  a  single  American  variety  had  been  raised  by  hybridiza 
tion  ;  now  a  cultivator  in  Massachusetts  produces  160  bushels, 
valued  at  $1,300  per  acre,  and  another  in  Connecticut  more 
yet,  from  new  sorts  produced  from  seed.  Other  parts  of  the 
country  have  improved  equally  with  the  East.  A  Boston 
apple  dealer  received  last  autumn  20,000  barrels  of  apples  from 
Niagara  county,  N.  Y.  In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1858-9,  Bos 
ton  exported  120,000  barrels,  mostly  Baldwins.  The  progress 
of  fruit  culture  is  well  illustrated  in  the  returns  of  the  fruit 
crop  of  Massachusetts.  In  1845  it  was  valued  at  $744,000  ;  in 
1855  at  $1,300,000,  and  in  1860  it  will  be  $2,000,000,  or  over. 


46  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

The  soil  and  climate  of  the  South,  contrary  to  common  opinion, 
are  favorable  to  the  culture  of  fruit.  There  is  an  orchard  in 
Georgia  of  9,500  pear-trees,  and  another  in  Mississippi  of 
15,000.  Many  fruits  nearly  worthless  at  the  North  are  render 
ed  valuable  under  the  warmer  climate  and  genial  sun  of  the 
South.  One  gentleman  at  the  South  sends  North  every  year 
from  seven  to  ten  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  peaches,  before 
they  are  ripe  in  the  middle  States.  We  can  approximate  to 
an  estimate  of  the  fruit  crop  of  the  United  States  from  these 
examples,  but  who  can  tell  what  will  be  its  importance  when 
the  numberless  young  trees  planted  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
States — when  the  vast  vineyards  and  orchards  now  flourishing 
in  the  great  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  in  the  Southern 
States,  shall  have  arrived  at  maturity  ? 

Col.  Wilder  next  passed  to  the  inquiry,  "  What  are  the  best 
means  of  promoting  this  art  and  science  ?"  First,  Thorough 
drainage  and  the  proper  preparation  of  the  soil.  The  former 
is  the  great  distinguishing  feature  of  the  terra-culture  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century.  It  is  to  agriculture  what  the  telegraph 
and  steam  are  to  commerce,  and  to  the  progressive  civilization 
of  the  world.  It  is  an  indispensable  condition  of  success  in 
pomology.  A  pear-tree  standing  in  drained,  deep,  and  thor 
oughly-worked  soil,  produced  in  a  single  year  eight  hundred 
perfect  specimens  of  its  fruit,  while  similar  trees,  outside  the 
influence  of  such  cultivation,  would  hardly  yield  one  hundred 
each,  and  these  of  inferior  quality.  Second,  Appropriate  soil 
and  location.  No  tree  should  be  placed  where  one  of  the  same 
species  had  grown  and  decayed.  A  treatise  which  should 
specify  upon  scientific  principles  the  particular  locality  and 
kind  of  soil  adapted  to  each  species  and  variety  of  fruit,  would 
be  a  desideratum  which  some  one  would  do  well  to  supply. 
Third,  Climate  and  meteorological  agencies.  Climate  as  well 
as  soil,  controlled  the  quality  of  our  fruit.  In  cold,  wet  seasons, 
fruit  was  likely  to  be  watery  and  insipid ;  in  fact,  this  was  so 
marked  as  to  entirely  change  the  flavor  of  really  luscious  vari- 


, 
YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  47 

eties  of  the  pear,  so  that  we  would  scarcely  recognize  them  as 
the  same  as  we  had  eaten  in  propitious  seasons.  Fourth,  Ma 
nures  and  their  application.  Analyze  your  soil  and  your  crop, 
and  .manure  according  to  what  you  find  the  plant  needs. 
Mulching  is  an  excellent  practice.  Manure  should  be  applied 
at  or  near  the  surface.  An  orchard  should  always  be  kept  free 
from  grass  or  weeds,  and  no  other  crop  should  be  raised  except 
when  the  trees  are  small,  and  even  then  only  a  few  vegetables 
midway  between  the  rows.  When  the  trees  arrive  at  matu 
rity,  cultivation  should  not  exceed  a  depth  of  more  than  three 
or  four  inches ;  the  roots  should  never  be  disturbed  with  the 
plow  or  spade.  Fifth,  The  producing  from  seed  new  and  im 
proved  varieties  suited  to  each  locality.  Dr.  Van  Mons  dis 
couraged  hybridization.  He  believed  it  tended  to  degeneracy 
and  imperfection,  but  he  must  have  overlooked  the  fact  that 
many  of  his  choicest  varieties  may  have  been  the  result  of 
natural  impregnation,  the  pollen  being  conveyed  from  one  kind 
to  another  by  the  breeze  or  by  insects.  Mr.  Knight,  late 
President  of  the  London  Horticultural  Society,  was  in  favor  of 
it.  The  improvement  of  plants  by  this  art  is  illustrated  by  im 
provement  in  the  turnip  crop  of  England,  of  whose  importance 
Daniel  Webster  remarked :  "  England  would  fail  to  pay  the 
interest  of  her  national  debt  if  turnips  were  excluded  from  her 
culture."  But  nature's  theory  is,  that  like  produces  like,  and 
the  lecturer  recommended  the  planting  of  the  most  mature  and 
perfect  seed  of  the  most  hardy  and  vigorous  sorts.  Sixth,  The 
cultivation  of  the  pear  upon  the  quince  stock.  Some  pomolo- 
gists  object  to  this,  but  some  varieties  succeed  better  on  the 
quince  than  upon  the  pear,  but  they  should  always  be  planted 
upon  a  luxuriant  soil,  and  be  abundantly  supplied  with  nutri 
ment.  They  should  be  set  deep  enough  to  cover  the  place 
where  they  were  grafted  three  or  four  inches.  In  this  way 
the  pear  would  frequently  form  independent  roots,  and  would 
combine  the  early  fruiting  of  the  quince  with  the  longevity  of 


48  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

the  pear.  They  are  well  adapted  for  cities,  where  garden 
room  is  scarce,  and  for  persons  advanced  in  life,  who,  were  they 
relying  on  the  standard  pear  for  fruit,  would  die  without  the 
sight  thereof.  Some  of  the  best  cultivators  practise  this  plan. 
The  failures  in  fruit-growing  were  mainly  attributable  to  bad 
selection  of  soil  and  varieties,  injudicious  treatment,  or  bad 
cultivation.  All  soils  are  not  suitable  for  fruit-orchards,  nor 
are  all  kinds  of  fruit  adapted  to  every  locality.  An  orchard 
of  half  an  acre,  near  Rochester,  yielded  forty  barrels,  which 
sold  for  $16  per  barrel,  making  $640  for  half  an  acre.  Seventh, 
Pruning,  which  requires  the  exercise  of  the  most  careful  judg 
ment.  The  pruning-knife  of  the  pomologist  is  like  the  ampu 
tating  knife  of  the  surgeon,  to  be  used  only  in  cases  of  extreme 
necessity.  As  to  pruning,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  different 
varieties  require  different  treatment,  for  they  are  not  all  alike 
in  constitutional  vigor,  or  external  form.  Hence  no  general 
rule  could  be  given ;  each  man  must  learn  from  experience. 
Eighth,  Preserving  and  ripening  of  fruit.  Much  progress  has 
been  made  of  late.  Fall  fruits  have  been  kept  till  spring. 
Summer  fruits  should  be  gathered  before  the  ripening  process 
commences.  The  pear,  if  left  to  ripen  on  the  tree,  forms  fibre 
and  farina,  but  when  removed,  and  placed  in  a  still  atmosphere, 
sugar  and  $uice.  Fruits  should  be  kept  in  a  cool,  dry,  and  dark 
place.  About  40°  Fahrenheit  is  the  best  temperature,  but 
different  varieties  require  different  treatment. 

The  lecturer  concluded  with  a  congratulation  for  those  who 
were  entering  upon  the  inviting  field  of  pomological  culture. 
"The  innate  hope  to  regain  a  'Paradise  Lost,'  inspires 
even  the  most  humble  to  have  a  country  home,  and  to  embel 
lish  that  home  with  fruits  and  flowers.  *  *  *  The  mission 
of  the  pomologist  is  to  multiply  our  varieties  of  good  fruit — 
to  increase  their  abundance — to  scatter  them  profusely  along 
the  rugged  path  of  life,  and  thus  would  he  extend  the  sphere 
of  rational  enjoyment,  dignify  labor,  adorn  our  beloved  land 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  49 

with  orchards,  gardens,  and  vineyards,  and  fulfil  one  of  the 
great  purposes  of  our  being — to  promote  the  health  and  hap 
piness  of  our  fellow-men." 

Almost  as  large  an  audience  assembled  this  morning  to  hear 
LEWIS  F.  ALLEN  speak  on  fruits.  The  editor  of  the  American 
Short-Horn  Herd  Book  showed  a  familiarity  with  apples  almost 
equal  to  that  he  has  with  animals,  and  he  gave  us  his  notions 
in  a  hearty,  good-natured  way  that  enlisted  the  sympathies  of 
the  audience.* 

Mr.  R.  G.  PARDEE,  of  New  York  city,  gave  his  first  lecture 
this  afternoon  on  the  Strawberry.  He  came,  he  said,  to  speak 
of  facts,  not  theories.  He  had  tried  to  grow  strawberries  for 
many  years  by  high  manuring,  but  without  success.  He  deter 
mined  to  experiment  till  he  should  discover  the  cause  of  the 
failure.  He  had  done  so.  It  was  by  overfeeding.  He  could 
now  grow  them  as  cheaply  as  potatoes.  The  following,  accord 
ing  to  his  experience,  is  the  best  method  :  Select  a  warm,  moist, 
but  exposed  situation ;  for  early  berries,  let  it  slope  to  the  East 
or  South ;  for  late  ones  to  the  North.  The  soil  should  be  a  fine, 
gravelly  loam.  Avoid  high,  barren  soils,  and  those  which  are  wet. 
To  prepare  the  soil,  make  it  clean ;  underdrain,  leaving  the  drain 
open  at  both  ends  to  allow  the  circulation  of  air.  Pulverize  at 
least  two  feet  in  depth,  making  10  per  cent,  of  the  soil,  if  possi 
ble,  as  fine  as  superfine  flour.  For  manures,  apply  30  bushels 
of  unleached  ashes  and  12  bushels  of  lime,  slacked  with  water 
holding  3  bushels  of  salt  in  solution,  to  the  acre.  Transplanting 
should  be  done  with  great  care,  and  the  rootlets  of  the  plant 
injured  as  little  as  possible.  The  best  time  to  transplant  is  in 
spring,  though  with  care  it  may  be  done  any  time  during  the 
summer.  The  lecturer  said  he  would,  in  starting  a  new  bed, 
place  the  plants  three  feet  apart  each  way,  and  allow  them 
to  spread  till  they  were  only  twelve  inches  from  each  other. 

*  Mr.  Allen  objects  to  any  outline  of  his  lectures  on  fruit  or  cattle-breeding 
being  given  in  this  work,  as  his  engagements  prevent  his  revising  them. 
3 


50  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

Nearer  than  this  they  should  never  grow.  The  beds  should  be 
mulched  with  tan-bark,  straw,  or  some  such  material,  to  the 
depth  of  half  an  inch — no  more.  This  keeps  down  weeds,  and 
keeps  all  but  the  strongest  runners  from  taking  root.  Water 
may  be  added  with  great  advantage  in  large  quantities,  except 
during  the  flowering  and  ripening  periods,  provided  always  it 
does  not  stand  and  become  stagnant  on  the  soil.  After  this 
preparation  little  attention  is  needed.  The  hoe  should  never 
be  used  about  the  plants,  as  it  injures  the  roots.  Field  culture 
differs  little  from  garden  culture.  The  productiveness  of  the 
strawberry  about  New  York  does  not  average  more  than  40 
bushels  to  the  acre.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  raising  150  bush 
els  under  the  cultivation  he  recommended.  In  the  winter  the 
plants  should  be  lightly  covered. 

The  strawberry  may  be  made  ever-bearing  by  entirely  pre 
venting  the  growing  of  runners.  This  may  be  done  by  plant 
ing  in  soil  composed  of  three-quarters  river  sand  and  one-quar 
ter  woods-mold.  This  dwarfs  the  plant  and  makes  it  ever 
bearing.  The  staminate  and  pistillate  plants  need  not  be  grown 
within  thirty  or  forty  feet  of  each  other.  Seedlings  are  easily 
raised.  The  analysis  of  the  plant  differs  in  different  places. 
The  best  six  varieties  are  Wilson's  Seedling,  Hooker's  Seed 
ling,  Longworth's  Prolific,  Hovey's  Seedling,  Burr's  New  Pine, 
and  McAvoy's  Superior.  There  are  many  others  nearly  as 
good.  Wilson's  Seedling  is  very  prolific ;  260  berries,  many 
of  them  large  ones,  have  been  grown  on  a  single  plant. 


SEVENTH  DAY.— FEB.  8,  1860. 

When  the  good  Dr.  GRAXT  mounted  the  rostrum  yesterday, 
he  was  greeted  with  loud  applause;  and  well  he  might  be,  for 
he  has  not  only  the  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  vine  which 
long  years  of  practice  impart,  but  he  bears  upon  his  benevolent 
face  that  stamp  of  integrity  which  begets  confidence  and  re- 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  51 

sped.  I  fear  that  the  audience  were  but  illy  impressed  with 
his  real  knowledge,  however,  for  present  sickness  has  almost 
deprived  him  of  voice,  and  the  lecture  must  have  been  unsatis 
factory,  because  imperfectly  heard. 

In  preface,  he  alluded  to  the  wonderful  growth  of  wild  vines 
in  wet  and  poor  soils,  but  showed  that  not  only  was  excessive 
growth  of  wood  a  poor  recommendation  to  the  vineyardist,  but 
the  quality  of  wild  grapes  is  poor,  and  their  apparent  great 
yield  deceptive.  All  of  the  European  vines  are  believed  to 
have  sprung  from  one  species,  and  been  introduced  from  Asia; 
while  in  America,  the  wild  vines  of  the  several  districts,  al 
though  widely  dissimilar,  have  not  been  positively  proved  dis 
tinct  species.  True,  the  Scuppernong,  with  its  family  of  Musca 
dines,  is  so  peculiar  that  from  its  foliage  it  would  scarcely  be  re 
garded  as  a  grape.  The  family  of  which  the  Herbemont  is  a  type, 
is  quite  distinct  from  all  others,  but  he  believes  it  to  be  traceable 
to  a  European  origin.  Many  of  our  native  vines  have  been  cul 
tivated  with  care  in  the  vineyard,  but  they  have  not  thriven  under 
the  treatment  so  as  to  recommend  them  above,  or  as  equal  to, 
the  nobler  sorts.  In  vine  culture  as  in  other  things,  the  great 
est  skill  and  care  gives  most  favorable  results.  Not  a  quarter 
century  will  pass  before  the  Connecticut  farmers,  at  least  those 
of  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  will  hail  the  grape  harvest  as 
the  most  joyous  part  of  the  year.  Wine-making  is  an  art  in 
which  the  most  complete  success  can  only  be  attained  through 
much  accurate  observation,  and  with  great  pains-taking  and 
skill ;  but  grape-growing  for  table  fruit  is  so  simple  an  affair  as 
to  be  within  the  reach  of  any  one  who  will  give  it  the  slightest 
attention.  If  any  one  thing  in  vine  culture  is  more  important 
than  another,  it  is  good  pruning.  Shoots  are  the  growth  of 
one  year,  and  are  so  called  from  the  time  that  the  opening  bud 
in  spring  has  developed  its  first  leaves,  until  it  has  completed 
its  year's  growth,  and  is  ready  for  the  priming-knife.  When 
cut  back  to  one  bud,  the  stump  is  called  a  short  spur ;  when 
cut  to  three  or  four,  a  long  spur ;  and  when  left  with  more; 


52  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

than  this  number  of  buds,  it  is  a  cane,  except  when  peculiar 
circumstances  give  it  a  special  name.  When  two  shoots 
spring  from  a  stump  near  the  ground,  and  are  destined  to  have 
bearing  shoots  grown  from  them,  they  are  termed  thighs;  and 
such  when  laid  horizontally  are  sometimes  called  arms.  The 
objects  of  pruning  are  :  1st.  To  restrain  the  roots  and  branches 
within  convenient  limits  for  cultivation.  2d.  To  concentrate 
the  strength  of  the  vine,  and  not  suffer  the  production  of  use 
less  wood  and  foliage.  3d.  To  get  just  enough  wood  to  bear 
full  crops  of  good  fruit,  and  plan  its  distribution  with  reference 
to  the  health  of  the  vine.  There  are  three  kinds  of  buds — the 
primaries,  which  come  at  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  or  where  the 
footstalk  joins  the  shoot,  and  which  in  bearing-vines  are  the 
fruit-buds  one  season,  and  the  next  produce  the  shoots  on  which 
fruit  is  borne ;  the  secondaries,  which  come  on  the  side  shoots, 
or  laterals,  and  which  are  removed  in  summer  pruning  ;  and  the 
adventitious  buds,  which  are  unseen,  until  they  burst  through 
the  bark  of  the  former  year's  wood.  They  are  called  wood 
shoots,  as  they  produce  no  fruit  except  in  a  few  varieties  of 
remarkable  productiveness.  A  bunch  is  a  productive  tendril ; 
a  tendril  an  abortive  bunch.  The  points  or  ends  of  bunches 
should  be  cut  off,  as  this  causes  a  complete  ripening  and  sweet 
ening  of  the  upper  grapes,  and  prevents  the  growing  of  shriv 
elled  berries  at  the  point,  which  is  a  sheer  waste  of  substance. 
If  a  vine  is  left  to  itself  to  grow,  the  tendency  of  vitality  is  up 
ward,  the  fruit  gets  beyond  our  reach,  has  a  coarse  quality  and 
a  woody  flavor,  while  the  buds  near  the  ground  soon  perish, 
and  no  after  care  can  revitalize  them.  It  is  scarcely  possible 
to  fix  the  duration  of  a  well-set  vineyard  ;  it  may  as  well  last 
one  thousand  as  one  hundred,  or  a  score  of  years.  The  vine 
needs  moisture  ever,  wetness  never.  Nitrogenous  manures  are 
good  if  well  rotted  and  composted,  for  they  attract  moisture, 
and  a  well-prepared  grape  border  is  never  dry  in  even  the  hot 
test  seasons. 

In  the  evening  the  Doctor  was  put  upon  the  stand  and  sub- 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  53 

jected  to  a  cross-examination  of  the  most  rigid  nature.  Some 
ol  Mr.  Allen's  questions  created  much  good-natured  merriment, 
for  he  was  evidently  determined  to  make  our  lona  friend, 
and  his  sympathizers,  give  their  reasons  for  the  faith  which  was 
within  them.  The  information  elicited  in  reply  to  questions 
wras :  That  table  grapes  of  first  quality  could  be  grown  more 
abundantly  and  surely  1-J-0  above  New  York  city,  than  else 
where  in  the  country.  They  will  not  reach  so  perfect  a  matu 
rity,  perhaps,  as  in  some  warmer  sections,  but  they  keep  better 
throughout  winter,  which  is  of  all  the  most  important  point. 
If  ripened  too  early  grapes  lose  flavor,  and  if  the  grape-grower 
is  so  far  north  that  he  is  forced  to  lay  down  his  vines  through 
the  winter,  he  is  amply  repaid  for  his  trouble  in  increased  fla 
vor  and  quality  of  product.  The  best  of  the  wine-growing  re 
gion  in  Germany  is  that  wThere  laying  down  in  winter  is  requi 
site.  A  favorable  exposure  makes  a  difference  of  almost,  if  not 
quite,  one  degree  of  latitude.  The  best  methods  of  laying 
down  vary  ;  a  mere  covering  of  boards  is  enough  to  guard 
against  slight  frosts,  but  with  the  additional  precaution  of  cov 
ering  with  sand  one  is  perfectly  safe  in  the  worst  places.  But 
a  slight  covering  is  necessary — just  enough  to  guard  against 
having  the  sand  wash  or  blow  off  and  expose  the  vine,  and  two 
or  three  inches  of  depth  is  enough.  The  whole  vine  should  be 
covered.  If  the  vine  is  as  large  as  a  man's  arm,  it  will  still 
readily  lie  down,  if  it  has  been  so  treated  from  the  first.  Milo 
carried  the  bull  because  he  commenced  carrying  it  when  a  calf, 
and  continued  the  practice.  A  large  vine  is  not  so  liable  to 
destruction  by  frost  as  a  small  one.  At  six  cents  per  pound, 
an  acre  of  grapes,  prepared  in  the  best  manner,  will  yield  an 
nually  $400,  at  an  expense  of  $100.  For  vineyard  culture,  we 
can  have  only  75  per  cent,  of  perpendicular  vine  area  to  100  of 
surface  area  of  the  ground.  That  is  to  say,  if  our  vines  are  set 
6  feet  apart,  they  must  not  be  suffered  to  grow  more  than  4£ 
feet  high.  Sunshine  is  more  necessary  to  a  vine  than  actual 
surface-room;  and  if  the  vines  grow  more  than  the  75  per 


54  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

cent,  high,  portions  will  be  shaded  by  the  adjacent  vines,  and 
thus  the  crop  be  damaged.  It  is  a  bad  plan  to  bury  the 
bodies  of  dead  animals  near  grape-vines  ;  they  should  be  com 
posted  with  three  times  their  bulk  of  muck,  or  like  earth,  the 
year  previous  to  application  to  the  vineyard.  Trenching  is 
good  in  warm  latitudes,  because  it  gives  the  vine  roots  a  cool, 
even  temperature.  Roots  should  be  free  to  run  downward,  for 
if  near  the  surface  they  get  baked  to  death.  In  Madeira,  vines 
have  an  average  depth  of  7  feet  of  soil,  and  grow  only  on  hills. 

At  this  point,  Lewis  F.  Allen  spoke  of  the  wonderful  growth, 
hardiness,  and  productiveness  of  the  wild  vines  of  the  woods, 
and  wanted  to  know  why  these  new  sorts,  which  need  so  much 
care  and  outlay,  were  their  superiors.  A  gentleman  present  sug 
gested  to  him,  that  if  he  (Mr.  Allen)  was  content  with  the  qual 
ity  of  fox-grapes  and  their  wine,  was  willing  to  go  to  the  woods 
and  climb  sky-high  to  get  them,  the  better  sorts  were  not  bet 
ter  for  his  purposes.  But,  as  the  world  is  foolish  enough  to 
prefer  the  Chasselas,  Hamburgh,  Catawba,  Delaware,  and  such 
grapes,  to  the  wild  variety,  and  would  pay  for  a  bottle  of  Hock- 
heimer,  Clos  Vougeot,  or  Johannisberg,  more  than  would  buy 
an  ocean  of  currant  or  fox-grape  wine,  these  better  grapes 
were  better  for  the  cultivator.  If  we  want  these  splendid 
wines,  we  must  raise  the  grapes  from  which  they  are  made ; 
and,  to  do  this,  we  must  select  better  soil,  give  more  labor  and 
care  to  cultivation,  and  spend  more  money. 

Dr.  Grant  said,  that  although  thorough  drainage  was  neces 
sary  where  the  soil  was  naturally  wet,  yet,  if  possible,  such  soil 
should  be  avoided  for  one  naturally  drained — say  a  clay  loam 
or  a  gravel  subsoil.  Drains,  in  moderately  wet  soil,  would  be 
likely  to  get  choked  with  grape  roots ;  but  if  water  were  con 
stantly  running  through  the  drains,  the  roots  would  probably 
die  by  immersion  in  it.  He  thought  that  by  laying  the  drain- 
tiles  in,  and  covering  and  surrounding  them  with  very  poor 
soil  or  sand,  the  grape  roots  would  not  pass  through  it  to  the 
drains.  The  skin  of  American  grapes  parts  readily  from  the 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  55 

flesh,  and  hence  in  a  good  table  grape  may  be  somewhat  thick 
er  than  is  admissible  in  Europe,  where  this  free  parting  is  not 
found.  The  flesh  should  be  sweet  to  the  very  centre,  and  the 
seeds  should  be  very  small.  For  family  use,  where  25  feet 
length  of  a  wall  can  be  had,  the  French  "  Thomery"  system  is 
best,  but  for  gardens  the  simple  low  "  thigh"  is  perfectly 
suitable.  As  it  is  impossible  to  fairly  describe  these  systems 
without  the  aid  of  cuts,  I  refer  inquirers  to  Dr.  C.  W.  Grant, 
lona  Island,  near  Peekskill,  N.  Y. 

At  2^  o'clock  this  afternoon  Mr.  PIRDEE  continued  his  lec 
tures  on  the  small  fruits.  The  raspberry  was  spoken  of  first. 
Few  persons,  he  said,  had  ever  seen  a  first-rate  one.  The  gar 
deners  about  our  cities  do  not  succeed  in  growing  them  to 
perfection.  This  fruit  likes  a  moist,  cool  situation,  such  as  the 
north  slope  of  a  hill,  or  the  north  side  of  a  fence.  The  soil 
should  be  made  very  rich  ;  you  cannot  overfeed  the  raspberry. 
The  strawberry  has  a  multitude  of  fine  fibrous  roots,  and  as  it 
grows  little  woody  fibre  it  requires  little  manure  ;  the  raspberry, 
on  the  contrary,  produces  considerable  wood,  and  as  it  has  few 
fibrous  roots  with  which  to  take  up  nourishment,  these  should 
be  well  supplied.  The  soil  should  be  made  very  fine.  Plant 
about  four  feet  apart,  and  cut  the  canes  to  within  one  foot  of 
the  ground.  At  the  time  of  planting,  stake  with  strong  stakes. 
Those  which  will  last  forever  may  be  made  by  the  French 
" Burnetizing "  process,  which  is  as  follows:  soak  the  stakes 
six  or  seven  days  in  a  solution  of  blue  vitriol  and  water,  in  the 
proportion  of  one  pound  of  vitriol  to  twenty  quarts  of  water. 
Berries  raised  on  canes  which  have  been  carefully  tied  to  stakes 
are  much  finer  than  those  which  have  been  left  to  be  blown 
about  by  the  wind.  As  soon  as  the  raspberries  have  all  ripened, 
remove  the  wood  on  which  they  grew  and  allow  the  sap  to 
flow  into  the  new  canes,  which  will  bear  another  year.  Keep 
the  ground  clean.  In  the  winter  lay  the  shoots  on  the  ground, 
and  cover  lightly  with  earth.  Brinckle's  Orange  Seedling  is 
one  of  the  very  best  varieties,  and  is  wonderfully  productive. 


56  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

The  Fastolff,  Franconia,  and  Red  Antwerp  are  very  fine.  Most 
of  those  sold  as  Red  and  Yellow  Antwerps  are  spurious.  The 
best  everbearing  varieties  are  the  Ohio  Black  Everbearing,  the 
Merveille  de  Four  Seasons,  and  the  Belle  de  Fontenay. 

The  blackberry  may  have  the  same  cultivation  as  the  rasp 
berry,  and  it  may  also  be  shaded  by  trees  without  injury. 
Capt.  Beverly,  of  Needham,  Mass.,  introduced  the  improved 
high-bush  blackberry.  The  proper  way  to  gather  Lawton  or 
New  Rochelle  berries  for  the  family  is,  to  jar  the  canes  with  a 
hammer,  and  catch  the  berries  which  fall.  The  others — and 
these  are  those  sent  to  market — are  not  fit  to  eat.  Never  leave 
more  than  three  canes  in  a  hill,  and  have  no  suckers  growing 
near  the  bush,  if  you  want  fruit.  If  you  wish  plants  for  sale, 
do  otherwise,  of  course.  Cut  back  your  canes  as  soon  as  they 
have  borne  their  crop,  pinch  off  the  ends  of  the  shoots  in  Sep 
tember,  and  again  in  spring ;  by  which  plan  you  will  throw 
the  strength  of  the  vine  into  fruit-bearing  on  the  laterals. 

The  cranberry,  on  bog  lands  to  which  a  dressing  of  sand  has 
been  added,  should  give  fifty  bushels  per  acre  the  first  year 
after  planting,  one  hundred  and  fifty  bushels  the  next,  and  so 
on  up  to  four  hundred  and  fifty  bushels,  as  a  maximum. 

The  gooseberry  is  a  fine  fruit  for  family  use.  With  me,  said 
Mr.  Pardee,  it  has  never  mildewed.  I  know  not  why,  unless 
it  is  because  I  grow  them  in  the  tree  form,  give  them  clean 
culture,  and  in  the  spring  give  them  abundance  of  soapsuds. 

The  whortleberry  is  difficult  to  transplant,  but  with  care  it 
may  be  made  to  produce  abundantly. 

The  currant  is  one  of  our  very  best  small  fruits.  Like  the 
raspberry,  it  cannot  be  manured  too  highly.  Those  who  culti 
vate  only  the  Red  or  White  Dutch  Currant,  do  not  know  what 
a  good  currant  is.  The  best  kinds  grow  to  the  diameter  of 
five-eighths  of  an  inch,  and  are  as  much  finer  in  flavor  as  supe 
rior  in  size.  The  following  are,  in  my  opinion,  the  best  varie 
ties  :  La  Versailles,  La  Hative,  Cherry,  White  Gonduoin,  and 
White  Provence. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  57 

EIGHTH  DAY.— FEB.  9,  1860. 

Surely  no  one  is  better  able  to  give  a  valuable  lecture  upon 
nursery  management  than  the  owner  of  the  largest  nursery  in 
the  world — no  one  more  capable  of  discoursing  upon  horticul 
ture  than  the  ex-editor  of  The  Horticulturist.  What  won 
der,  then,  if  Mr.  P.  BAERY'S  lecture  this  afternoon  should  have 
drawn  a  large  audience,  and  given  satisfaction.  It  is  this  fea 
ture,  I  think,  that  gives  Professor  Porter's  Yale  discourses 
great  value,  that  his  talkers  are  workers,  his  expounders  of 
theory  eminent  in  practical  experience.  To  have  Fitch  on  In 
sects,  Barry  on  Nurseries,  Johnson  on  Chemistry,  and  Grant 
on  Grapes,  is  like  having  Mott  on  Surgery,  Palmer  on  Sculp 
ture,  Church  on  Painting,  and  Greeley  on  Journalism.  And 
until  you  can  convince  me  that  Paul  Potter's  bull  is  of  more 
importance  to  the  nation  than  Samuel  Thome's  Grand  Duke, 
Wedgewood's  pottery  than  the  rougher  sort  which  old  Mr. 
Johnston  buries  underground,  I  must  think  that  our  agricultu 
ral  lights  shine  with  more  useful  brilliancy  than  would  those  at 
the  supposed  convention  of  savans  and  artists. 

Mr.  Barry  commenced  by  saying  that,  although  the  subject 
of  nursery  management  might  be  deemed  not  generally  inter 
esting,  since  it  was  a  calling  by  itself,  yet  every  one  who  in 
tended  rearing  an  orchard,  or  even  a  few  trees  upon  his  farm, 
should  know  enough  of  the  mode  of  managing  trees  to  rear 
what  few  he  might  need  to  supply  deficiencies  which  might 
arise  from  death  or  other  accidental  causes,  or  at  any  rate  to 
give  to  his  growing  orchard  or  plantation  such  good  care  as 
would  make  it  most  profitable.  Twenty  years  ago,  two  or 
three  small  nurseries  in  the  neighborhood  of  each  of  our  large 
cities,  occupying  in  all  not  more  than  five  hundred  acres,  and 
a  few  other  small  apple  nurseries  of  an  acre  perhaps  each,  sup 
plied  the  wants  of  the  United  States  and  the  Canadas.  Now 
we  have  over  one  thousand  nurseries  ;  and  in  Monroe  county, 
N.  Y.,  alone,  where  he  resides,  there  are  three  or  four  thousand 
3 


58  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

acres,  producing  annually  $500,000  worth  of  trees.  In  the 
whole  Union,  there  are  annually  sold  fifteen  to  twenty  millions 
trees,  for  say  $5,000,000.  His  subject  he  would  treat  under  the 
several  heads  of  locality ;  soil;  arrangement ;  preparation  of 
the  ground;  propagation  of  stocks  ;  grafting;  treatment  of  trees 
in  the  nursery;  and  digging  up.  A  commercial  nursery  should 
be  located  near  a  large  city,  town,  or  village,  both  for  the  fa 
cility  of  getting  a  supply  of  labor,  manure  in  abundance,  imple-> 
ments,  post-office,  and  railroad,  or  other  transportation  ;  and  a 
preference  should  always  be  given  to  a  fertile  and  prosperous 
agricultural  region,  for  obvious  reasons. 

Surface. — The  surface  of  a  nursery-ground  should  be  nearly 
level ;  if  sloping,  the  slope  gentle  and  nearly  uniform,  not  only 
for  the  convenience  of  working  and  planting  in  straight  lines, 
but  because  hilly  ground  is  so  washed  in  rains  as  to  do  great 
damage.  Shelter. — There  should  be,  if  possible,  some  natural 
shelter — high  ground,  woodland,  or  orchards,  to  break  the  force 
of  winds  in  winter  and  spring.  If  these  natural  shelters  can 
not  be  had,  plant  parallel  belts  of  rapid-growing  trees,  such  as 
spruce  or  larch,  in  the  form  of  hedge-rows,  at  a  distance  of  two 
hundred  or  three  hundred  feet  apart,  all  over  the  grounds. 
Soil — should  be  dry  and  deep,  neither  too  light  nor  heavy. 
Light  sandy  soils  require  heavy  and  frequent  manuring,  and 
produce  weak  trees ;  and  retentive  clays  give  too  little  fibrous 
root  to  trees,  ripen  them  badly,  make  transplanting  difficult, 
and  good  removal  almost  impossible.  Stony  soils  impede  the 
progress  of  tools,  and  are  in  every  way  objectionable.  On  dry 
soils,  naturally  drained,  trees  mature  their  wood  well,  and  are 
therefore  hardy  when  transplanted.  The  coarse-grained,  rank, 
watery  trees  grown  on  prairie  soil,  freeze  to  the  ground  in  a 
temperature  that  would  not  affect  those  grown  on  more  favorable 
ground ;  it  being  the  fluid,  and  not  the  solid  parts  of  a  plant, 
which  are  acted  upon  by  frosts.  A  nursery  needs  much  more 
thorough  drainage  than  ordinary  farm  fields.  The  drains  should 
be  never  more  than  two  rods  apart,  and  were  better  to  be  laid 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  59 

at  a  depth  of  three  and  a  half  feet.  In  a  stiff,  retentive  clay 
bottom,  they  should  be  only  twenty  feet  apart.  Laying  out 
the  Nursery. — Divide  and  subdivide  your  land  into  plots  and 
compartments  for  the  various  articles  which  are  to  be  grown ; 
assigning  special  places  to  seedlings,  stocks  to  be  worked,  cut 
tings,  layers,  and  specimen  trees.  This  latter  plot  is  very 
essential  to  the  proper  management  of  the. nursery,  and  the 
comfort  of  visitors.  In  this  specimen  plot  should  be  grown 
one  or  two  samples  of  every  tree  in  cultivation  in  the  nursery, 
the  better  to  test  their  genuineness,  quality,  and  constitution. 
A  place  should  also  be  given  to  manures  and  composts ;  and 
through  the  whole  nursery  broad  roads  should  be  made  so  as 
to  make  every  part  accessible.  Preparation  of  Ground. — 
An  old  pasture,  or  clover  field,  is  best  for  nursery  ground,  for 
the  inverted  sod  gives  just  the  right  food  for  young  trees.  A 
broadcast,  light  dressing  of  well-rotted  manure,  or  compost, 
should  be  applied  before  plowing.  Plow  very  deeply,  and  sub 
soil  fifteen  or  eighteen  inches,  if  possible.  This  roots  your 
trees  well,  lets  surface  water  run  down,  and  lower  moisture 
draw  up,  and  in  fact  is  every  way  requisite.  Propagation. — 
Our  cultivated  varieties  of  trees  cannot  be  propagated  by  seeds. 
The  particular  qualities  which  constitute  their  chief  value  are 
the  result  of  hybridization,  or  of  cultivation — qualities  which 
are  not  transmissible  in  the  seed.  True,  we  may  chance  upon 
better  varieties  by  sowing  the  seed,  but  there  are  a  thousand 
chances  against  such  good  fortune ;  and  hence  we  resort  to 
grafting,  budding,  cuttings,  layers,  and  suckers.  And  this 
brings  us  to  the  subject  of  stocks,  which  is  a  most  important 
one  in  the  propagation  of  fruit-trees. 

Without  good  stocks  we  cannot  produce  good  trees,  although 
our  soil,  situation  and  cultivation  may  have  been  ever  so  favora 
ble.  Formerly,  wild,  self-sown  seedlings  from  the  woods  and 
orchards  were  thought  good  enough  for  the  nurseryman's  pur 
poses,  and  even  poor  suckers  from  the  roots  of  trees  were  used. 
Experience  has  taught  us  better  practice  than  this,  and  now  the 


60  YALE   AGRICULTURAL    LECTURES. 

production  of  good  stocks  is  the  first  great  aim  of  intelligent 
cultivators.  The  apple,  pear,  plum,  cherry,  peach,  apricot,  and 
nectarine  stock,  are  grown  from  seed  ;  but  the  Doucin  anil 
Paradise  for  Dwarf  Apple-trees,  and  the  Quince  for  Dwarf 
Pears  are  usually  produced  from  layers.  We  have  thus  far 
been  able  to  grow  cherry  and  common  apple  stock  in  sufficient 
quantity  for  our  use,  but  are  compelled  to  import  pear  and 
plum  seedlings  and  stocks  for  the  dwarf  pear,  apple  and  cherry. 
The  most  important  of  all  these  is  the  pear,  which  we  have  to 
import  largely,  because  in  this  country  the  young  seedling  is 
attacked  by  a  fungus  or  blight  which  destroys  it  at  a  tender 
age.  Although  no  absolute  remedy  for  this  "  leaf  blight"  is 
likely  to  be  hit  upon,  very  thin  sowing  of  seed  on  a  deep,  dry, 
fresh  soil  never  before  occupied  by  trees,  and  unremitting  care 
and  good  cultivation  during  the  early  stages  of  growth,  act  in 
some  wise  as  preventives  against  the  malady.  Our  nursery 
men  now  grow  on  one  acre  as  many  seedlings,  especially  the 
apple,  pear,  and  plum,  as  should  rightfully  be  assigned  to  five, 
and  the  result  is,  a  growth  of  weak,  spindling  trees.  Well- 
grown  pear  and  apple  stocks  should  be  always  ready  for  the 
nursery  rows  at  one  year  old.  If  they  are  not,  another  year's 
occupancy  of  the  same  place  will  not  generally  add  much  to 
their  value.  Apple  stocks  may,  perhaps,  remain  two  years  in  a 
place,  but  pears  must  be  transplanted.  The  lecturer  then  de 
scribed  the  stocks  in  common  use  for  grafting,  dwelling  for  a 
moment  to  sketch  the  difficulties  which  attended  the  introduc 
tion  of  the  quince  stock  for  dwarf  pears  into  this  country.  Ex 
perience  has  established  the  fact  that  the  two  French  quinces, 
the  Angers,  and  Paris  or  Fontenay,  are  best  for  pear  grafting. 
The  former  is  most  vigorous,  and  of  rapid  growth  when  young; 
the  latter  more  hardy.  Some  pears  succeed  best  on  one,  some 
on  the  other.  Stocks  are  good  when  half  to  three-quarters  of 
an  inch  in  diameter,  and  can  be  obtained  from  cuttings,  layers, 
or  by  the  earthing-up  practice.  To  obtain  strong  stocks,  plant 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  61 

out  a  certain  number  of  stool  or  mother  plants,  in  a  deep,  rich, 
well-prepared  soil ;  when  they  have  stood  one  season,  cut  them 
all  off  close  to  the  ground.  The  next  season  they  will  produce 
strong,  smooth  shoots,  which  the  following  year  may  be  earth 
ed  up,  half  their  length,  as  celery  is  earthed  up,  and  in  the 
fall  they  will  have  rooted  well  enough  to  bear  separation 
from  the  parent  plant.  If  left  on  during  winter,  the  frost 
will  ruin  them.  Such  stock  as  these  may  be  set  in  nursery 
row  the  next  spring,  and  budded  the  same  season.  Only 
two  crops  of  shoots  can  be  taken  from  the  same  stool,  and 
a  good  dressing  of  manure  is  necessary  to  get  even  the  second. 
Pears  propagated  on  small,  weak  quince  stocks  are  worthless. 
In  budding  or  grafting  quince  stocks,  it  should  always  be  done 
near  the  ground,  so  that  the  whole  of  the  quince  may  be  set 
under  ground  without  being  too  deep.  Root-grafting,  although 
still  an  open  question  among  nurserymen,  Mr.  Barry  believes 
to  be,  if  properly  performed,  as  good  a  mode  for  propagating 
the  apple,  and  more  especially  all  the  strong  growing  sorts,  as 
any  other  in  use.  It  has  been  sadly  abused,  and  thus  been 
brought  into  disfavor  with  bunglers  and  their  victims. 

Management  of  Young  Trees. — Trees  are  too  closely  plant 
ed,  as  a  general  thing  ;  three  and  a  half  feet  between  the  rows, 
and  three  or  four  inches  between  the  plants,  is  too  little  space 
to  give  either  air,  light,  hardiness  of  constitution,  spread  of 
root,  or  strength  of  top.  For  apples,  pears,  or  other  trees 
which  are  to  remain  two  years  in  the  nursery  row,  the  distance 
from  tree  to  tree  should  never  be  less  than  eighteen  inches  for 
standards,  and  twenty-four  inches  for  pyramids ;  and  even  at 
such  distance  the  pruning-knife  is  to  be  freely  used.  Country 
people  are  too  apt  to  value  a  nursery  tree  in  proportion  to  its 
height,  rather  than  its  strength  and  proportions — a  too  common 
and  fatal  mistake.  Cutting  back  should  be  freely  practised, 
and  the  leader  or  main  stem  should  be  pruned  as  well  as  the 
side  branches,  else  one  will  get  a  tall  and  ill-proportioned  tree. 
An  enormous  amount  of  money  is  annually  lost  to  tree  pur- 


62  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

•j 

chasers  from  rude  and  unskilful  taking  up.  Trees  are  torn  up 
by  the  roots,  as  if  the  trunk  and  branches  were  the  one  thing 
necessary,  and  the  roots  superfluous.  The  proper  way  is,  to 
open  a  trench  on  each  side  of  the  tree  with  a  common  spade, 
keeping  the  edge  toward  the  tree,  so  as  not  to  cross  a  root. 
These  trenches  should  be  far  enough  from  the  tree  to  avoid  the 
main  roots,  and  deep  enough  to  go  below  all,  except  a  tap-root, 
which  may  be  cut  off.  This  being  done,  the  tree  may  be  pull 
ed  up  with  its  roots  entire. 

Mr.  Barry,  in  conclusion,  spoke  of  the  wide  field  which  was 
still  open  to  intelligent,  industrious,  and  capable  men,  who 
would  embark  in  the  nursery  business,  but  cautioned  them  against 
entering  upon  it  for  mere  speculative  purposes,  or  with  dreams 
of  sudden  wealth,  to  be  got  as  one  would  draw  a  lucky  num 
ber  in  a  lottery. 

The  morning  lecture  was  by  Prof.  Johnson,  and  the  one 
after  Mr.  Barry's  was  to  have  been  by  Dr.  Grant,  but  as  he 
was  too  much  indisposed  to  speak,  he  procured  as  a  substitute 
Mr.  ANDREW  S.  FULLER,  the  Brooklyn  nurseryman.  Mr.  Fuller 
went  into  the  history  of  the  grape  in  Europe,  noticing  the 
varieties  which  in  successive  ages  were  deemed  the  best.  Pie 
showed  when  and  how  these  foreign  varieties  were  introduced 
into  the  United  States.  In  the  Northern  States  they  had,  al 
most  without  exception,  proved  failures,  but  at  the  South  they 
had  given  rise  to  descendants,  some  of  good  quality.  Even 
with  a  choice  grape,  its  quality  and  profit  depended  in  a  great 
degree  upon  the  cultivation  and  pruning  given  to  it.  In  sum 
mer,  during  the  season  of  active  growth,  the  liquid  portions  of 
the  sap  are  exhaled  almost  as  fast  as  they  can  be  absorbed  by 
the  roots,  and  no  great  accumulation  can  take  place  in  any  one 
portion  of  the  vine.  But  the  leaves  once  fallen,  the  roots  con 
tinue  to  absorb  their  appropriate  food  from  the  soil,  and  thus 
the  wood  becomes  quite  filled  with  sap,  which  is  kept  in  store 
for  early  spring  use.  It  is  therefore  plain,  that  AVC  should 
prune  our  vine  as  soon  as  the  leaves  drop  of,  that  the  sap  which 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES.  63 

is  afterwards  absorbed  may  all  go  toward  the  nutriment  of  the 
buds  which  remain. 

He  recommends  a  medium  depth  of  planting ;  that  the  sur 
face  or  upper  roots  may  be  not  less  than  four  nor  more  than 
eight  inches  from  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Many  of  our 
strong-growing  sorts,  such  as  the  Concord  and  Diana,  can  be 
brought  within  control  by  root-pruning  for  the  two  or  three 
years  after  planting.  Mr.  Fuller  thought  that  if  we  may  judge 
from  our  short  experience,  we  are  warranted  in  the  belief  that 
America  will  produce,  if  it  has  not  already,  as  fine  grapes  for 
both  table  use  and  wine-making,  as  the  most  favored  countries 
of  Europe,  with  all  their  centuries  of  experience,  can  boast. 


NINTH  DAY.— FEB.  10,  1860. 

Whenever,  in  coming  out  of  a  lecture-room,  you  hear  all 
about  you  people  saying  "  What  a  capital  lecture ! "  "  How  well 
he  understands  his  subject!"  "How  many  valuable  hints  he 
gave  us  in  the  hour  ! "  you  may  be  certain  that  it  was  a  valu 
able  discourse ;  and  such  was  the  case  this  morning,  after  Mr. 
BARRY'S  second  lecture  on  fruit-trees.  Certainly  I  never  listened 
to  a  more  complete  epitome  of  information  on  any  one  topic 
than  he  condensed  into  sixty-five  minutes  ;  and  now  that  I  sit 
down  to  give  your  readers  the  gist  of  it,  my  trouble  is  to  know 
where  to  commence  the  process  of  exclusion. 

The  subject  chosen  was  the  "  Transplanting  and  Management 
of  Tree*  in  the  Orchard  and  Garden,"  embracing  a  variety  of 
operations  which,  if  followed  in  detail,  would  require  a  week 
instead  of  an  hour  to  describe.  The  general  remarks  upon  the 
preparation  of  ground  for  nursery  trees,  which  were  contained 
in  my  letter  of  yesterday,  apply  to  all  tree  plantations.  Our 
readers  should  remember  that  the  important  points  in  land 


64  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

treatment  can  only  be  best  done  before  the  trees  are  set  out : 
so  that  before  we  send  our  orders  to  the  nurseryman  we  should 
have  finished  our  draining,  subsoiling,  and  trenching.  As  to 
spring  or  fall  planting,  opinions  vary,  and  vary  chiefly  because 
of  different  nature  and  conditions  of  soil  with  various  tree- 
planters.  Mr.  Barry's  experience  is,  that  in  a  good,  dry,  well- 
prepared  soil,  fruit-trees  may  be  planted  at  any  time  after  the 
wood  is  ripe  in  the  fall  (a  period  indicated  not  by  the  fall  of 
the  leaf,  but  by  the  perfect  formation  of  the  terminal  leaf-buds, 
and  the  changing  tints  of  the  foliage),  until  the  freezing  of  the 
ground ;  and,  in  spring,  from  the  time  when  the  frost  is  out 
and  the  ground  dry  enough  to  work,  until  the  buds  have  made 
some  considerable  advancement  toward  opening.  Generally 
the  more  tender  trees,  such  as  the  peach,  apricot,  and  nectarine, 
should  at  the  North  be  planted  in  spring,  as  winter  acts 
severely  upon  them  after  transplanting.  This  is  the  better 
mode,  but  fall  planting  of  even  these  tender,  juicy-wooded 
trees,  is  often  successful,  if  precaution  be  used.  The  foil 
planter  must  never  forget  to  mulch  the  roots  with  several 
inches'  depth  of  leaf-mold,  half-rotted  manure,  or  some  such 
material  as  will  modify  the  action  of  frost  on  the  roots  and  tree- 
trunk.  A  neglect  of  proper  preparations  for  planting  causes 
great  loss.  The  majority  of  trees  from  the  nursery,  by  unskil 
ful  removal,  have  mutilated  roots ;  if  the  tree  were  set  without 
proper  pruning,  most  of  these  roots  would  rot,  and  those  which 
escaped  would  grow  feebly  for  a  long  time.  All  these  bruised 
and  broken  roots  must  be  pruned  close  up  to  the  sound  wood 
with  a  sharp  knife,  the  cut  being  made  perfectly  smooth  and 
almost  straight  across,  so  as  to  present  as  little  surface  as  pos 
sible.  Never  cut  the  roots  downward,  or  so  as  to  have  the 
slope  on  the  upper  side  of  the  wood,  but  upward;  for  in  any 
other  case  the  water  would  get  between  the  bark  and  wood 
and  rot  off  the  root,  while  if  rightly  done  new  rootlets  will  be 
put  forth  from  the  root  end,  and  all  go  on  well.  All  broken 
branches  must  be  removed,  and  then  the  whole  top  be  reduced 


-     . 

YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  65 

by  cutting  back  half,  or  more  than  half,  but  always  keeping 
the  lower  branches  of  dwarf  pears  and  other  pyramidal  trees, 
longer  and  stronger  than  the  upper  ones.  The  tree  naturally 
pushes  its  growth  upward,  and  this  tendency  must  be  restrained 
so  that  you  will  get  the  bulk  of  fruit  near  the  ground,  thus 
avoiding  top-heaviness,  and  liability  to  branch-breaking  by  high 
winds.  Keep  a  due  proportion  between  root  and  branches,  so 
that  there  will  always  be  enough  root  to  furnish  food,  and  no 
waste  of  strength  in  superfluous  wood  and  leaf-production. 
We  aim  at  getting  fruit  in  large  quantity,  and  of  distributing 
it  equally  over  the  tree,  that  no  one  part  may  be  overtaxed,  or 
weakened.  Almost  ninety  of  every  hundred  tree  purchasers 
set  such  store  by  the  nice,  long,  smooth  branches  of  their  trees, 
as  they  come  from  the  nursery,  that  they  spare  the  knife,  and 
set  them  out  just  as  received.  Let  them  beware  how  they  are 
thus  "  penny  wise  and  pound  foolish,"  for  their  trees  are  checked 
and  stinted  in  growth,  and  are  left  far  behind  others  which 
have  been  boldly  and  judiciously  pruned.  Many  persons  think 
trees  should  be  manured,  like  a  hill  of  potatoes,  at  time  of 
planting.  Such  are  likely  to  kill  their  trees  by  overmuch  kind 
ness.  Good  fresh  surface-soil — if  light  and  sandy,  all  the  better 
— is  what  should  be  put  around  trees  at  time  of  planting.  He 
would  say  nothing  about  hole-digging,  for  the  whole  soil  where 
trees  were  to  be  planted  should  be  so  well  prepared  that  a  hole 
needs  only  be  large  enough  to  admit  the  roots.  The  roots 
should  be  set  about  four  or  five  inches  below  the  surface.  In 
light  soils  they  may  be  set  deeper  than  in  heavy  ones,  because 
heat  more  readily  passes  downward.  The  thorough  cultivation 
of  the  soil  among  fruit-trees  can  be  neglected  only  at  the 
planter's  peril. 

In  fields  of  grain  the  poor  trees  are  smothered  by  their  ava 
ricious,  or  unwise,  owners.  When  the  rows  are  thirty  or  forty 
feet  apart,  almost  any  farm  crop  may  be  grown  between,  but  at 
least  six  feet  of  ground  beyond  the  extremities  of  the  roots 
should  be  unplanted,  and  kept  as  clean  and  as  mellow  as  it 


66  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

would  be  about  a  hill  of  potatoes  or  corn.  No  weeds  must 
exercise  Mr.  Douglas's  squatter  sovereignty  privilege,  unless 
one  wishes  to  starve  his  trees  to  the  extent  of  the  food  these 
pestiferous  plants  consume.  Remember  this  point,  for  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  ;  but  in  putting  it  into  practice,  remem 
ber  also,  that  in  your  hand-hoeing,  or  horse-hoeing,  the  tree 
roots  must  not  be  disturbed.  A  light  annual  dressing  of  com 
post  should  be  spread  upon  the  surface  early  in  winter,  and  in 
spring  forked  in.  Road-scrapings,  ditch-bottoms,  and  such 
matter,  are  good  for  application  to  a  light  soil,  and  heavy  leaf- 
mold,  and  decaying  vegetables,  with  stable-manure  for  a  heavy 
soil,  are  good  in  compost.  Occasional  light  dressings  of  lime, 
ashes,  and  even  salt,  will  be  found  beneficial.  Mulching  in 
summer  should  be  very  light,  just  enough  to  keep  down  weeds, 
and  once  a  week,  or  once  a  month,  as  the  case  may  be,  must 
be  removed  for  as  thorough  a  forking  of  the  ground  as  can  be 
given  without  injury  to  the  tree  roots.  The  object  sought  in 
pruning  fruit-trees  is  to  regulate  their  growth  and  bearing,  so 
as  to  secure  at  once  a  particular  form  with  greatest  vigor  and 
fruitfulness.  The  only  instrument  used  in  a  good  nursery  is 
the  pruning-knife ;  and  this  should  be  kept  so  sharp  that  any 
ordinary  branch  may  be  lopped  off  at  a  single  draw,  leaving  a 
perfectly  smooth  surface.  Shears  should  never  be  used.  A 
saw  is  only  required  when  trees  have  been  neglected.  Branches 
removed  should  be  cut  close  to  the  trunk,  so  that  the  tree  may 
not  be  injured  by  the  decay  of  a  stump.  Shorten  shoots  to  a  good 
strong  bud  that  will  make  a  leader,  not  too  close  to  nor  too  far 
from  the  bud,  and  with  a  slope  of  cut  of  about  forty-five  degrees. 
In  shortening  your  leader,  don't  always  cut  on  the  same  side, 
for  you  would  thus  make  the  whole  tree  lean  one  way  or  the 
other.  Pruning,  rightly  done,  is  a  blessing ;  wrongly,  a  curse. 
To  show  practically  how  pruning  should  be  done,  Mr.  Barry 
performed  the  operation  on  several  fruit-trees  which  he  had 
brought  for  the  purpose,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the 
large  audience  got  thus  a  far  better  idea  of  the  modus  operan- 


TALE   AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES.  67 

di  than  long  arguments  would  have  conveyed.  I  am  also  glad 
to  learn  that  Mr.  T.  S.  Gold  intends  to  illustrate  his  lectures 
on  sheep-breeding,  by  placing  before  us  a  well-shaped  and  a 
badly-shaped  live  sheep.  Could,  any  thing  be  more  admirable? 

Standard  apple  trees  in  orchards  require  very  little  pruning. 
If  the  head  is  formed  at  a  proper  distance  from  the  ground, 
say  four  or  five  feet,  and  the  main  branches  to  form  the  frame 
work  of  the  head  are  started  in  the  right  direction,  as  nearly 
as  possible  equally  distant,  inclining  upward  and  outward,  the 
subsequent  pruning  will  consist  in  removing  branches  where 
they  are  likely  to  become  crowded  or  to  cross  each  other. 
The  natural  growth  of  varieties  differing,  our  pruning  should 
be  modified  to  suit  each  special  case.  Apple-trees  not  pruned 
generally  bear  a  heavy  crop  of  fruit  one  season,  and  none  the 
next,  and  so  heavy  is  the  crop  that  a  good  part  of  it  is  worth 
less.  Judicious  pruning  enables  us  to  have  a  moderate  crop 
of  fine  fruit  each  year,  besides  promoting  the  general  health 
and  prosperity  of  the  trees.  A  few  days  of  a  man  over  an 
apple  orchard  when  the  fruit  is  half  or  a  third  grown,  will  be 
well  spent  in  removing  misshapen  and  wormy  fruit,  and  thin 
ning  out  clusters  that  are  crowded  together.  Fools  cut  away 
branches  indiscriminately,  until  their  trees  are  but  skeletons, 
with  a  few  bearing  branches  at  the  extremities  only.  The  force 
of  the  tree  is  then  expended  in  producing  a  crop  of  rank,  wa 
tery  shoots  in  the  interior,  to  be  again  cut  away  to  make  room 
for  a  second  crop.  Trees  should  never  be  suffered  to  bear 
fruit  until  they  have  got  strength  and  vigor.  A  pruner  should 
know  the  difference  between  fruit-buds  and  wood-buds,  and  at 
least  the  rough  outlines  of  the  principles  of  tree  growth.  This 
knowledge  may  be  acquired  by  an  intelligent  man  in  a  brief 
time.  There  are  many  other  points  of  equal  interest  in  Mr. 
Barry's  lecture  of  which  I  should  like  to  speak,  but  cannot. 

Doctor  GRANT  lectured  first  this  afternoon,  speaking  without 
notes,  and,  like  Mr.  Barry,  exemplifying  the  doctrines  of  prun 
ing  and  vine-setting,  on  specimens  brought  for  the  purpose. 


68  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

The  following  directions  he  gave  us  for  preparing  a  grnpe-bor- 
der  in  the  best  manner — (our  readers  will  remember  that  the 
term  "border"  is  applied  to  any  plot  of  ground  longer  than 
wide,  which  is  to  be  devoted  to  grapes) : 

For  a  trellis  of  vines,  more  than  twelve  feet  of  width  is  un 
necessary,  and  one-third  less  will  answer  very  well ;  and  it  is 
desirable,  but  not  indispensable,  that  half  of  the  twelve  feet 
should  be  prepared  before  planting.  If  only  a  width  of  three 
feet  is  prepared,  three  feet  more  should  be  added  the  next  sen- 
son.  To  prepare  the  border  immediately,  the  unfertile  soil 
that  lies  beneath  must  be  removed,  and  fertile  soil  put  in  its 
place.  To  do  this,  a  trench  two  feet  wide  is  made  to  the  depth 
of  the  mold,  or  fertile  soil,  which  we  will  suppose  to  be  one 
foot;  if  more  than  that,  so  much  the  better.  Now,  to  make 
the  border  two  feet  deep,  which  is  the  least  admissible,  one 
foot  of  the  subsoil  must  be  removed.  If  grounds  are  of  con 
siderable  size,  this  may  be  spread  over  the  surface  of  a  portion, 
so  that  it  shall  not  be  more  than  two  inches  in  depth,  and  plow 
ed  or  worked  in  without  any  immediate  damage,  but  with  ulti 
mate  benefit,  particularly  if  manure  is  used  at  the  same  time. 
Into  the  bottom  of  this  trench  the  fertile  soil  of  the  adjoining 
two  feet  is  put,  and,  if  it  can  readily  be  had,  a  compost  of  leaf- 
mold,  or  muck,  or  any  vegetable  decay,  and  well-rotted  stable 
manure,  thoroughly  mixing  the  mass  as  it  goes  in.  If  sods 
from  a  rich  pasture  can  be  had,  they  may  be  thrown  in  with 
the  compost  to  the  depth  of  fourteen  or  sixteen  inches  for  every 
foot  of  subsoil  removed,  and  then  the  fertile  soil  from  the  next 
two  feet  put  upon  the  top.  Repeat  this  process  until  the  bor 
der  of  required  dimensions  is  made,  and  finish  by  putting  into 
the  last  trench  the  soil  that  was  taken  from  the  first.  If  sods 
and  compost  are  not  used,  other  fertile  soil  must  be  obtained  from 
adjoining  ground,  or  some  other  quarter,  to  replace  the  subsoil 
that  has  been  removed.  At  the  completion  of  the  operation, 
the  ground  of  the  border  will  be  found  to  be  some  inches  higher 
than  the  adjoining  ground,  but  in  two  years  it  will  settle  to 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  69 

the  level.  This  is  the  operation  called  trenching,  and  without 
it  no  garden  is  in  condition  for  giving  best  results.  For  grow 
ing  strawberries,  raspberries,  and  blackberries,  it  is  equally 
advantageous,  but  with  this  difference,  that  the  fruits  last 
named  are  expected  to  continue  perhaps  only  from  six  to  twice 
six  years  on  the  same  ground,  while  vines  properly  planted  and 
managed  have  no  limit  to  their  duration,  and  the  fruit  for  many 
years  will  constantly  improve  in  quality  and  earliness  of  matu 
rity.  If  the  trenching  is  performed  one  season  in  advance,  the 
subsoil  may  be  put  upon  the  top  of  the  mold,  and  enriched  by 
having  manure  thoroughly  incorporated  by  a  second  or  third 
spading,  or  by  plowing,  according  to  extent  of  ground.  If 
ground  is  prepared  in  early  autumn,  it  will  be  ready  for  vines 
in  the  spring ;  but  if  in  spring,  it  will  not  be  in  the  best  condi 
tion  for  vines  before  fall,  without  a  renewal  of  subsoil. 

The  subjects  of  pruning  and  planting  were  also  fully  discuss 
ed,  but  my  space  is  already  exhausted,  and  I  must  leave  them 
undescribed. 

In  the  evening,  Mr.  GEORGE  B.  EMERSON,  of  Boston,  gave  a 
lecture  upon  "  The  character  of  the  various  forest  trees  of 
Europe  and  America."  He  alluded,  in  commencing,  to  the 
differences  observed  in  the  tree  of  the  plain  and  the  forest : 
the  one  tall  and  bare,  the  other  full  of  limbs,  and  short.  He 
then  went  on  to  speak  of  the  great  uses  of  the  forest  in  creat 
ing  soils.  Described  the  lava-covered  sides  of  Vesuvius,  where 
the  lichen  first,  the  moss,  the  grass,  the  low  shrub,  small  trees, 
and  finally  larger  ones,  added  to  and  made  the  soil  upon  which 
grows  the  tree  of  400  or  500  years.  One  oifice  of  the  forest 
is  thus  to  prepare  a  soil  for  the  use  of  man.  As  forests  have 
disappeared  here,  we  have  an  unfavorable  change  of  climate, 
becoming  colder  in  winter  and  hotter  in  summer,  and  the 
streams  become  dried  up.  Many  places,  in  valleys  once  pro 
tected,  are  now  open  to  the  cold  blasts,  and  nothing  will  grow 
well.  A  row  of  trees  planted  across  the  valley  would  mitigate 
the  result  in  one  generation.  He  considered  the  more  exten- 


70  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

sive  means  to  protect  by  means  of  trees,  in  France,  Germany, 
and  England ;  alluded  to  the  advantages  of  forests  as  electrical 
conductors  and  condensers  thus  of  moisture  ;  spoke  of  the  vast 
stores  of  the  sun's  light  and  heat  they  annually  store  up,  to  light 
up  the  long  evenings  for  man,  and  of  the  denudation  or  wash 
ing  away  of  the  soil  when  the  roots  of  the  sturdy  trees  were  gone. 
— Restore  the  forests  to  the  tops  of  our  hills,  and  the  moisture 
would  be  restored  to  our  air  and  droughts  prevented. 


TENTH  DAY.— FEB.  11,  1860. 

The  convention  assembled  at  9  o'clock,  and  listened  to  an 
other  lecture  by  Mr.  EMERSON.  The  number  of  ladies  in  at 
tendance  was  larger  than  at  any  previous  session.  The  subject 
was  "  The  Individual  Trees  of  the  Forest."  In  introducing  it, 
he  remarked  that  the  feeling  was  common  that  the  farmer's 
was  not  a  high  occupation.  There  is  no  occupation  requiring 
such  large  resources  of  knowledge.  Man  can  only  prepare 
himself  for  the  proper  culture  of  forest  trees  by  studying  them 
in  their  native  woods.  The  cultivator  of  the  forest  tree  must 
have  varied  knowledge ; — of  physics,  in  their  higher  depart 
ments,  treating  of  climate — for  we  can  do  a  vast  deal  to  change 
it  most  favorably ;  of  the  sun's  light  and  heat  and  their 
action, — a  lesson  seldom  learned  as  it  should  be;  of  elec 
tricity  and  the  kindred  forces;  of  the  winds  and  the  ^vaters ; 
of  the  chemistry  of  soils  and  the  proper  action  of  their 
elements ;  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  in  water  and  the  other 
organic  elements  found  in  trees ;  of  the  laws  of  the  at 
mosphere,  in  winds,  rain,  and  dew ;  of  the  operation  of 
manures  and  their  adaptations.  The  forester  must  know 
what  soils  will  furnish  the  necessary  nutriment,  and  to  this 
end  must  know  the  composition  of  trees.  Structural  bota 
ny,  one  of  the  most  curious  sciences  that  the  genius  of  man 
has  laid  open,  must  be  understood.  So  of  endosmose  and  exos- 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  71 

mose,  the  strange  forces  by  which  food  is  taken  into  the  plant ; 
of  the  composition  of  the  products  of  plants,  the  formation  of 
wood,  and  the  circumstances  favorable  to  growth ;  how  to 
manage  the  ground  in  preparation  for  planting,  to  select  the 
place  where  they  shall  flourish,  and  the  trees  of  the  best  form 
for  planting.  He  must  be  acquainted  with  the  friends  and  foes 
of  each  tree,  both  insects  and  birds,  and  with  the  various  pro 
cesses  of  layering,  budding,  grafting,  &c.  The  observant  fac 
ulties  are  all  necessary,  and  ought  to  be  educated  ;  their  neglect 
is  among  the  most  serious  omissions  in  a  farmer's  education 
The  objects  of  forest  culture  are  to  improve  the  land  and  to 
furnish  materials  for  use  in  the  arts.  Of  single  trees,  those  are 
best  which  will  furnish  the  shade  we  seek.  The  spray  of  some 
of  our  native  trees,  as  the  birches,  and  willows,  and  especially 
the  maples,  is  most  beautiful,  and  varies  every  season  of  the 
year,  ever  being  a  source  of  beauty.  The  seeds  of  different 
trees  fall  at  different  times,  according  to  their  size,  so  that  they 
may  be  covered  up  and  germinate,  and  generally  under  the 
shade  of  the  mother  tree.  Seedling  trees  must  be  sheltered,  a 
purpose  for  which  the  Scotch  or  other  fir  is  used  to  good  ad 
vantage.  The  value  of  leaf  mould  for  these  seedlings  is  well 
known.  The  ground  for  the  seminary,  or  nursery,  must  be  well 
prepared,  but  need  not  be  very  deep.  The  best  manures  are 
leaves  and  leaf-mold,  with  a  little  of  barn-yard  compost,  well 
rotted,  and  then  all  suffered  to  lie  for  a  year  exposed  to  the 
air.  The  seeds  ought  to  be  sown  immediately  upon  gathering, 
those  which  animals  would  dig  up  for  their  food  excepted.  Many 
seeds  will  not  bear  drying.  In  imported  seeds,  some  few  come  up 
the  first  year,  some  the  second,  and  others  the  third,  whereas 
had  they  been  immediately  sown  as  they  were  taken  from  the 
trees,  they  would  all  have  sprung  up  at  first.  The  depth  of  seed 
planting  varies  according  to  size,  and  the  young  trees  must  be 
protected  for  the  first  year  or  two,  from  the  sun.  By  transplanting 
we  cut  off  the  tap-root,  and  thus  render  it  easy  to  remove  again. 
Each  soil  as  we  advance  should  be  poorer,  till  it  becomes 


72  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES- 

of  the  same  character  as  that  where  the  tree  shall  stand. 
Trees  for  an  artificial  forest  should  grow  close  together, 
and  single  ones  apart  from  each  other.  The  oak,  which  has 
been  allowed  to  expand,  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  things 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  some  of  our 
finest  trees  are  not  to  be  seen  growing  in  our  own  forests  in 
their  native  perfection.  To  see  our  scarlet  oak  in  beauty,  we 
must  see  it  on  an  English  lawn.  The  nurseries  should  be  kept 
free  of  weeds  by  the  hoe  or  rake.  No  small  part  of  the  suc 
cess  with  trees  depends  upon  the  care  with  which  they  are 
taken  up,  and  also  upon  the  shortness  of  time  they  are  out  of 
the  ground.  The  rootlets  are  killed  often,  if  dried  by  the  sun 
or  wind,  and  the  tree  has  to  throw  them  out  anew.  They  may 
be  planted  on  the  lawn  in  rows,  singly,  or  in  groups.  The 
land  should  be  trenched,  and  supplied  often  with  bones  and 
ashes,  the  trees  needing  both  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  A 
singular  fact  made  known  by  the  united  researches  of  chemis 
try  and  microscopy  is,  that  only  in  a  liquid  containing  sugar, 
dextrine,  and  protein,  can  cells  be  formed.  Only  where  car 
bon,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  nitrogen,  and  often  sulphur  and  phos 
phorus  exist,  can  the  first  act  of  plant  life  begin.  Plants  gene 
rally  contain  three  per  cent,  of  nitrogen.  This  must  be  added 
if  the  soil  does  not  contain  it.  Mulching  with  leaves,  sedge, 
grass,  or  rotten  wood,  is  advantageous.  Is  it  asked,  What 
trees  are  best  for  the  lawn,  or  near  a  dwelling-house,  for  the 
pasture,  the  public  square,  or  the  road-side?  Every  tree  is 
more  or  less  beautiful.  Every  tree  is  a  picture,  varying  in 
color,  shape,  and  all  the  accidents  of  vegetable  life,  in  all  the 
hours  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  year.  It  may  be 
come  an  heir-loom,  and  ever  fresh  with  the  memory  of  parents 
and  grand-parents  gone  before.  Each  tree  has  its  birds,  and 
insects,  its  epiphytes,  parasites,  and  lichens.  The  grandest  tree 
in  our  climate  is  the  oak,  and  the  longest  lived.  In  the  forests 
of  Massachusetts  there  are  twelve  species.  The  white  oak,  for 
the  forest  and  lawn,  is  susceptible  of  magnificent  development. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  73 

The  old  oaks  of  the  forests  and  lawns  of  England  are  worth  a 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic  to  see.  No  language  can  give  an 
idea  of  their  beauty  and  grandeur.  The  English  elm  is  best  for 
narrow  ways,  the  American  for  broad.  The  former,  though 
not  so  graceful  a  tree,  throws  out  its  leaves  earlier  and  holds 
them  later,  being  in  foliage  from  three  to  six  weeks  longer. 
The  elm  can  speak  for  itself,  for  it  is  the  only  tree  that  every 
body  knows.  The  tulip-tree,  a  rapid  grower,  with  fine  flowers 
and  fruit;  the  sycamore;  the  Norway  maple,  standing  the  wind 
better  than  any  other  tree ;  the  red,  white,  and  rock  maples, 
the  last  the  best ;  the  beech,  with  its  showy  blossoms  and  sweet 
nuts,  good  for  pasture,  because  never  struck  by  lightning  nor 
browsed  upon  by  cattle ;  the  linden,  and  hickory,  easy  to  trans 
plant  if  the  tendency  to  depend  on  the  tap-root  be  corrected 
in  the  nursery;  the  sassafras,  hornbeam,  hop  hornbeam,  the 
locust,  the  horse-chestnut,  and  black-walnut,  all  have  their  ad 
vantages.  Two  or  three  black  cherry-trees  along  the  outside 
of  a  cherry  orchard,  will  draw  the  insects  to  themselves.  The 
plane,  or  buttonwood,  makes  a  conspicuous  figure  in  all  grounds, 
and  was  valued  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans  above  all  other 
trees.  Birches  are  admirable,  too,  for  the  beauty  of  their  bark, 
leaves,  and  branches. 

Professor  JOHXSOX  gave  us  a  capital  lecture  on  the  nutrition 
of  animals.  The  food  of  man  in  his  best  development,  says  the 
Professor,  is  not  exclusively  vegetable ;  not  but  that  from  veg 
etables  he  could  get  all  the  substances  which  he  needs  for  his 
sustenance,  but  in  the  form  of  flesh  they  are  much  more  con 
densed. 

The  animal?  which  exhibit  the  most  intense  power  of  mus 
cular  and  nervous  force  are  carnivorous.  For  the  sake  of  flesh 
and  milk  as  food,  for  wool  as  clothing,  and  for  the  useful  labor 
which  the  ox  and  horse  furnish,  the  farmer  seeks  to  convert 
vegetable  into  animal  produce.  By  the  aid  of  cattle,  not  only 
can  man  convert  the  grains,  fruits,  and  esculent  roots  into  a 
more  concentrated  and  vigorous  diet,  but  he  can  manufacture 
4 


74  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

food  out  of  naturally  growing  grasses,  and  employ  hundreds 
of  otherwise  refuse  matters  for  the  same  object.  A  diagram 
exhibited  by  the  lecturer  showed  the  composition  of  a  pig  when 
fat  and  lean,  thus : 

Fat— Per  Cent.  Lean— Per  Cent. 

Water 45  60 

Albuminoids 15  17 

Fat .' 37  21 

Mineral  matter,  or  ash 3  2 

Total 100  100 

The  carbo-hydrates — starch,  sugar,  cellulose,  gum,  &c. — are 
changed  by  the  animal  into  grape  sugar,  and  are  then  ready  to 
be  assimilated  to  build  up  its  body.  The  grape  sugar  is  chang 
ed  into  lactic  and  butyric  acids,  and  thence  into  fat.  The  mine 
ral  matters  found  in  the  bones,  blood,  and  other  portions  of 
the  body,  are  of  course  obtained  from  the  plants,  which  in  their 
turn  suck  them  from  the  soil.  In  some  districts,  such  as  that 
about  Leipsic,  some  of  these  necessary  minerals  are  deficient  in 
the  soil ;  and  it  has  often  been  observed,  that  where  phosphate 
of  lime  is  not  in  the  farm  soil  in  sufficient  quantity,  cows  suffer 
from  bone  disease,  and  will  gnaw  any  old  bone  that  they  may 
find  lying  on  the  ground.  Animal  force  and  heat,  like  steam, 
are  generated  by  the  actual  combustion  of  material ;  in  the 
former  cases  this  being  food,  in  the  latter  fuel.  The  "fire 
place"  in  the  animal  is  all  over  its  body,  wherever  a  pin-prick 
will  draw  blood.  As  in  the  steam  engine,  the  amount  of  mus 
cular  and  nervous  force  in  the  animal  is  proportionate  to  the 
amount  of  fuel  or  food  consumed.  First,  material  is  stored  up 
in  the  tissues  for  use,  and  then  every  exertion  of  the  muscles 
or  brain  is  accompanied  by  an  oxydation,  or  burning  of  the 
tissues.  In  this  process,  carbonic  acid,  water,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  ammonia,  are  given  off — the  remainder  of  the  am 
monia  being  transformed  into  urea,  and  voided  from  the  body. 
An  engine  is  merely  a  mechanism  for  using  an  engendered 
force,  but  the  animal  is  itself  consumed,  and  must  be  renewed 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  75 

constantly.  Whenever  the  time  arrives  that  the  vital  force  is  not 
enough  to  supply  the  waste,  decay,  and  then  death,  come  upon 
us.  A  degree  of  heat  that  would  destroy  animal  tissue,  when 
separated  from  the  animal,  is  necessary  in  the  body  to  sustain 
life  itself.  This  heat  is  engendered  by  using  the  carbo-hydrates 
and  fats  of  food ;  but  these  confcdn  no  nitrogen,  and  hence 
they  will  not  strengthen  our  bodies,  although  they  do  warm 
them.  When  in  a  state  of  rest,  the  muscular  and  nervous  tis 
sues  are  but  little  wasted,  but  the  fat  is  consumed  in  heating. 
When,  however,  an  ox  or  man  labors,  or  a  man  thinks,  the 
muscular  and  nervous  substance  is  consumed.  A  good  warm 
stable,  or  other  means  of  giving  external  heat  to  our  animals, 
is  a  much  cheaper  way  to  maintain  the  requisite  animal  heat 
than  to  overfeed  with  corn  and  oats.  Oil  is  a  necessary  ingre 
dient  in  food,  and  the  addition  of  fatty  matter,  when  not  nat 
urally  present  in  sufficient  quantity  in  it,  helps  digestion,  and 
thus  promotes  the  growth  of  the  animal.  A  German  farmer 
proved  this  by  feeding  some  stock  on  food  that  contained  but 
little  oily  matter,  and  comparing  their  daily  weight  with  the 
greater  weight  they  afterward  attained  when  fed  upon  a  more 
fatty  diet.  For  man's  food,  cooking  is  a  great  assistant  to  di 
gestion,  for  it  commences  chemical  changes  which  would  have 
to  be  brought  about  in  the  stomach,  and  would  thus  abstract 
from  his  store  of  vital  force  a  considerable  amount  of  what 
he  might  have  used  in  muscular  exertion.  The  young  growing 
animal  needs  an  easily  digestible  food, — food  which  contains 
a  large  amount  of  bone  material.  Milk  is  by  analysis  found  to 
be  of  just  this  character,  and  hence  we  see  the  admirable  pro 
vision  of  nature  in  this  respect. 

The  afternoon  lecture  was  by  Mr.  LUTHER  H.  TUCKER,  of 
The  Country  Gentleman,  who,  having  devoted  the  whole  of 
last  summer  to  an  investigation  of  British  and  French  farming, 
was  deemed  the  suitable  person  for  giving  us  a  lecture  upon 
this  interesting  topic.  Mr.  Tucker  is  another  of  our  rising 


76  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

young  men,  and  already  gives  promise  of  doing  much  toward 
bringing  about  the  needed  reform  in  our  farm  practice. 

Mr.  Tucker  commenced  with  some  remarks  upon  the  English 
climate  and  soil.  The  former  is  such  that  while,  on  the  one  hand, 
Indian  corn  will  seldom  ripen,  and  the  pear,  the  peach,  the  tomato, 
the  melon,  and  cucumber,  and%imilar  fruits,  require  artificial  heat 
to  effect  their  perfect  development ;  on  the  other,  there  is  not 
a  month  in  the  year  when  the  plowman  and  his  teams  are  not 
actively  at  work.  Of  the  soil,  it  had  been  said  that  while  com 
paratively  little  is  really  very  good,  one-thirteenth  part  resists 
all  attempts  at  cultivation,  and  two-thirds  of  the  remainder  is 
so  stubborn  and  ungrateful  that  it  tries  the  skill  and  ingenuity 
of  the  cultivator.  He  then  spoke  of  the  progress  which  Great 
Britain  has  made  during  the  last  half  century,  in  population  and 
wealth.  A  recent  report  of  the  Registrar-General  showed  that 
the  natural  increase  of  the  former  now  averages  over  one 
thousand  souls  every  twenty-four  hours,  while  the  growth  of 
the  latter  may  be  estimated  from  the  computation  published  a 
year  or  two  since  in  London,  that  the  grand  aggregate  profits 
of  English  industry  amount  each  year  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  dollars  ($250,000,000).  There  is  a  national  predi 
lection  among  all  classes  of  the  people  for  country  life — a  kind 
of  taste  which  it  might  be  hoped  that  we  should  prove  to  have 
inherited,  when  the  fever  of  our  younger  life  should  make  way 
for  more  of  the  discrimination  of  cooler  manhood — a  taste  there 
manifested  not  only  by  the  attention  with  which  men  of  wealth 
regard  horticultural  embellishments,  and  the  interest  taken  by 
Parliament  and  the  whole  country  in  equestrian  improvement, 
including  the  races,  and  in  sporting — but  also  in  the  more  prac 
tical  direction  of  actually  increasing  the  productive  powrer  of 
the  land.  So  important  did  this  taste  appear  to  Lavergne,  the 
French  author,  that  he  did  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  "  the 
chief  cause  of  her  [England's]  agricultural  wealth."  Prince 
Albert's  farming  was  referred  to  as  an  example  in  point,  as 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  77 

well  as  the  expenditures  often  made  in  the  cause  of  agriculture 
by  wealthy  gentlemen  and  commoners. 

In  a  general  view  of  "  English  agriculture,"  then,  if  there 
were  not  practical  lessons  afforded  for  immediate  imitation,  a 
pervading  influence  could  not  but  be  felt  throughout,  calculated 
to  lead  our  farmers  to  a  more  intelligent  appreciation  of  their 
calling  and  its  duties.  The  first  cause  of  its  advancement  was 
undoubtedly  the  abundance  of  wealth  and  the  compact  popula 
tion  of  the  island.  Next  came  the  national  taste  to  turn  this 
wealth  into  rural  channels,  and  thirdly,  a  necessity  for  enlarged 
production,  which  had  directed  both  wealth  and  t-iste  to  prac 
tical  objects.  Up  to  a  period  within  forty  years,  the  object 
in  view  by  English  agriculturists  had  been  to  reclaim  waste 
lands.  A  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  1797,  after 
protracted  investigations,  calculated  the  area  thus  brought  un 
der  inclosure  during  the  eighteenth  century  at  about  4,000,000 
acres ;  and  under  the  impulse  of  war  prices  from  1800  to  1820, 
there  are  statistics  to  show  that  3,000,000  acres  more  were 
added  to  the  dominion  of  the  plow.  Then  came  a  falling  off; — 
comparatively  little  has  since  been  done  in  this  direction,  and, 
since  1840  particularly,  the  aim  of  English  agriculture  has  been, 
not  to  enlarge  the  productive  average  of  the  island,  but  to  in 
crease  its  acreable  production. 

Some  of  the  agencies  by  which  this  had  been  partially,  and 
was  constantly  being  more  fully  accomplished,  he  hoped  to 
illustrate  before  concluding.  Previously  he  alluded  briefly,  in 
the  fourth  place,  to  the  three  classes  engaged  more  or  less 
directly  in  English  agriculture — the  proprietors,  the  tenantry, 
and  the  laborers.  "England  and  Scotland,"  wrote  Philip 
Pusey,  so  long  the  editor  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society's 
Journal,  "  are  the  only  countries  with  a  class  of  cultivators 
possessing  sufficient  capital  to  stock  farms  of  a  good  size  at 
their  own  risk,  paying  a  certain  yearly  sum  to  the  proprietor." 
In  fact,  the  farming  capital,  other  than  the  ownership  of  the 
land,  is  almost  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  tenants,  and,  in  many 


78  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

instances,  even  the  park-grazing  about  the  mansion  of  the  land 
lord  is  let  out,  as  well  as  the  arable  land.  The  tenants  are  often 
men  of  such  wealth  that  they  would  probably  live  upon  their 
resources  in  this  country,  except  so  far  as  they  might  be  en 
gaged  in  looking  after  their  investments.  The  average  interest 
obtained  by  landlords  upon  the  cash  value  of  their  land,  high 
as  the  rents  appear  to  us,  perhaps  rarely  exceeds  three  per  cent. 
Farmers  expect  to  invest  their  money  in  agriculture  so  as  to 
make  it  pay  them  ten  per  cent,  if  possible ; — the  average  profit 
they  realize  may  vary  from  eight  to  ten  per  cent.  Really,  it  is 
only  a  very  rich  man  who  can  afford  to  own  land  in  England, 
and  several  instances  were  given  to  show  how  property  there 
gravitates  toward  the  country,  including  a  farmer  mentioned 
by  Mr.  Colman,  who  was  paying  an  annual  rent  of  $85,000 ! 

Taxes  and  tithes  are  to  be  added  to  the  rents  the  farmers 
pay,  these  rents  varying  from  a  dollar  or  two  per  acre,  under 
the  least  favorable  circumstances,  to  ten,  twelve,  and  fifteen 
dollars  for  choice  locations  in  good  farming  districts,  and  reach 
ing  for  the  whole  island  an  average  of  six  dollars.  Some  of 
the  Scotch  moors  are  rented  according  to  the  number  of  sheep 
they  will  carry  per  acre,  at  so  much  per  head  for  the  sheep. 

During  the  eighty  years  preceding  Mr.  Caird's  investigations 
in  1850-51,  it  was  found  that  the  rents  of  twenty-six  counties 
had  increased  a  little  more  than  one  hundred  per  cent.,  while 
the  wages  of  laborers  showed  an  advance  of  thirty-four  per 
cent. ;  the  price  of  bread  was  about  the  same ;  meat  had  appre 
ciated  seventy  per  cent.,  butter  one  hundred  per  cent.,  and 
wool  still  more.  The  production  of  wheat  only  showed  an 
advance  from  the  average  of  twenty-three  bushels  per  acre 
reported  by  Arthur  Young,  to  that  of  twenty-six  and  a  half 
reported  by  Mr.  Caird — an  explanation  of  which  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  only  the  very  best  fields  were  then  put  into  wheat, 
while  now  the  area  on  which  it  is  grown  is  immensely  increased, 
and  the  whole,  bad  and  good,  made  to  yield  fifteen  per  cent, 
more  than  the  selected  parts  did  previously. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  79 

A  brief  recapitulation  of  the  measures  to  which  English  agri 
culture  probably  owes  its  progress  was  then  given, — including 
among  earlier  improvements,  root  crops,  rotation,  the  sowing 
of  grasses  and  clovers,  and  the  imperfect  drainage  of  the  land 
by  open  ditches  or  otherwise,  as  the  most  prominent ;  among 
later  ones,  the  increased  use  of  machinery  and  bet»ter  imple 
ments,  purchased  fertilizers,  and  food  for  stock;  the  deeper 
drainage  of  the  land  by  tile  and  pipe  ;  and,  perhaps  most  prom 
inent  of  all,  the  improvement  effected  in  the  different  races  of 
domestic  animals,  and  the  increased  attention  given  to  feeding 
them  for  the  sake  of  their  manure. 

A  brief  account  followed  of  a  visit  upon  a  Hertfordshire  farm 
where  one  of  Fowler's  steam-plows  was  in  operation.  The 
Norfolk  or  four-course  system  was  there  practised,  extended 
sometimes  over  a  fifth  year  by  retaining  the  clover-crop  a  second 
season,  or,  if  the  land  was  in  good  order,  by  adding  a  grain 
crop,  generally  oats.  The  remainder  of  the  hour  was  devoted 
to  a  narrative  of  some  of  Mr.  Mechi's  modes  of  farming — an 
account  of  his  method  of  feeding,  stabling,  and  managing  his 
manures,  and  a  statement  of  the  crops  he  has  obtained  at  Tip- 
tree  Hall. 

Mr.  Mechi  went  on  to  this  farrn  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago, 
when  he  gives  the  place  rather  a  hard  character.  "  Almost 
surrounded  by  barren  heath,"  he  found  the  land  so  retentive 
of  Water  that  a  large  part  of  it  was  constantly  in  a  state  vary 
ing  in  consistency  "  between  putty  and  bird-lime,  according  to 
the  season."  He  sold  half  of  it,  determined  to  get  as  much  as 
possible  out  of  the  remainder,  and  went  on  to  make  such  ex 
penditures  as  really  frightened  sober  and  practical  men  ;  he 
underlaid  his  fields  with  pipes^  conveying  manure  in  a  liquid 
form  by  means  of  hydrants  to  every  part  of  the  farm ;  and 
now,  not  only  all  the  stable  manure,  but  also  guano  is  dis 
tributed  by  steam  pumps  through  this  channel, — and  even  the 
carcasses  of  dead  horses  and  cattle  are  put  into  the  same  tanks, 
macerated  by  degrees,  and  sprinkled  out  through  the  hose. 


80  YALE   AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

His  average  crops  of  wheat  are  now  forty-six  to  forty-eight 
bushels  per  acre ;  of  oats,  not  far  short  of  ninety  ;  of  barley, 
not  more  than  fifty.  His  cattle  are  fed  on  sparred  floors,  with- 
out  bedding  of  any  kind — all  their  food  cut  and  cooked.  Ho 
says  that  he  don't  use  straw  more  generally  in  feeding  because 
it  is  not  naturally  in  condition  to  be  very  nutritive  ;  but  when 
cooked,  he  states  that  every  hundred  pounds  of  straw  is  shown 
to  contain  the  equivalent  of  eighteen  and  a  half  pounds  of  oil. 
Straw  for  manure  is  worth  to  him  only  two  dollars  thirty-three 
cents  per  ton,  while  for  fodder  it  is  worth  five  dollars ;  and,  as 
he  raises  about  two  tons  of  straw  per  acre,  this  difference  is 
of  enough  consequence  to  him  almost  to  turn  the  scale  between 
loss  and  profit  upon  each  acre  under  a  grain  crop. 

Mr.  M.'s  cooking  apparatus  consists  of'"  a  number  of  cast-iron 
pans,  or  coppers,  each  capable  of  containing  250  gallons,"  set  in 
brick-work,  so  as  to  stand  level  with  the  floor,  and  heated  by 
waste  steam,  from  the  engi  ne,  admitted  into  a  four-inch  space 
about  them.  The  fodder  is  cut  to  quarter-inch  length,  at  a  cost 
of  from  50  cents  a  ton  for  cutting  hay  by  steam  to  $1  per  ton 
for  straw.  In  feeding  roots,  they  are  first  cut  by  machine,  and 
then  "  mixed  in  the  manger  with  the  warm  steamed  chaff." 

As  to  rotation  of  crops,  Mr.  Mechi,  in  common  with  most  of 
the  "  high  farmers  "  whom  tTie  speaker  had  rnet,  apparently  re 
garded  this  as  altogether  a  secondary  consideration  after  a  farm 
once  attains  a  certain  pitch  of  productiveness. 

The  difficulty  which  high-farming  is  most  puzzled  to  over 
come  is,  the  "laying"  or  lodging  of  the  crop.  The  moment 
the  condition  of  the  land  reaches  a  certain  point,  its  yield  can 
be  no  farther  increased,  because  the  amount  of  soluble  silica 
to  glaze  the  straw  appears  to  fail,  and  the  risk  from  this  cause, 
together  with  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  ground  clean,  pre 
sents  an  obstacle  nearly  or  quite  insurpassable. 

An  extra  lecture  was  given  in  the  evening,  by  Mr.  Quinby, 
on  Bee-Keeping.  In  the  first  place  he  proceeded  to  answer  the 
Yankee's  characteristic  question,  "  Will  it  pay  ?"  By  a  very 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES.  81 

conclusive  array  of  facts  and  figures  he  demonstrated  that  with 
intelligent  management  no  investment  is  more  remunerative. 
The  best  season  for  moving:  bees  is  from  the  first  of  October 

O 

to  the  first  of  April.  They  should  not  be  moved,  during  tfye 
summer,  as  the  bees  will,  many  of  them,  leave  the  hive,  and  the 
combs  being  soft  are  liable  to  injury.  In  preparing  for  moving, 
the  apparatus  should  be  covered  with  muslin,  and  the  hive  in 
verted  to  prevent  the  combs  from  becoming  detached. 

In  purchasing,  see  that  the  hive  contains  sufficient  honey  to 
carry  the  bees  through  the  winter,  perhaps  thirty  pounds,  and 
also  that  you  have  a  large  number  of  bees,  which  is  indicative 
of  health. 

He  warns  those  not  experienced  in  bee-keeping  against  com 
plicated  patent  hives.  The  management  of  the  old-fashioned 
box  hive  is  simple  and  understood  by  all.  There  is  much  hope 
however,  that  the  patent  of  Mr.  Underbill,  of  New  York,  will 
be  so  perfected  as  to  be  a  real  improvement.  Mr.  Harbison's 
hive  has  many  advantages,  which  were  given  in  detail. 

The  hive  should  be  so  constructed  as  to  be  protected  from 
the  cold  north  and  west  winds.  It  should  not  be  near  a  body 
of  water,  as  bees  which  are  heavily  laden  are  thus  often  drowned. 
The  hive  need  not  be  more  than  a  few  inches  from  the  ground. 

For  hiving  bees,  he  described  an  easily-constructed  contriv 
ance,  which  dispenses  with  the  necessity  of  climbing  to  fear 
ful  heights  where  the  bees  may  have  alighted. 

The  methods  of  obtaining  the  honey  without  destroying  the 
bees  and  injuring  the  honey,  are  quite  simple  and  desirable. 


ELEVENTH  DAY. -FEB.  13m,  1860. 

To-day  Mr.  TUCKER  gave  his  second  lecture  on  English  Ag-. 
riculture,  to  an  audience  larger  than  usual. 

Mr.  Tucker's  lecture  was  a  continuation  of  his  subject  of  yes 
terday,  and  was  interesting  and  practical. 
4* 


82  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

He  remarked  that,  deferring  until  another  opportunity  a 
summary  of  the  ground  already  covered,  he  would  endeavor  to 
describe  briefly  one  or  two  extensive  farms  against  the  man 
agement  ef  which  it  was  less  likely  that  a  charge  could  be 
brought  of  any  "  higher  farming"  than  was  consistent  with 
profit,  or  within  the  reach  of  others  similarly  situated.  Un 
doubtedly  there  was  bad  farming  in  England,  as  well  as  in  this 
country ;  there  was,  also,  a  small  class  of  those  whose  opera 
tions  were  bolstered  up  on  unusual  capital,  of  whom  Mr.  Mechi 
would  answer  as  an  example,  and  who  could  not  therefore  be 
regarded  exactly  as  fair  specimens  of  the  practical  man  in  the 
present  condition  of  English  husbandry.  He  had  enjoyed  the  op 
portunity,  however,  of  visiting  several  who  might  justly  rank  as 
such,  and  could  only  regret  that  the  necessities  of  the  case  then 
compelled  the  entire  omission  of  much  in  which  an  interest  would 
be  felt  by  practical  farmers  in  this  country,  and  the  very  imper 
fect  survey  of  the  instances  to  which  time  allowed  an  allusion. 

"  Butley  Abbey,"  and  one  or  two  other  farms,  altogether 
including  3,000  acres  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  occupied  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Crisp,  together  with  the  operations  upon  it,  were  first 
considered.  A  description  was  given  of  the  sheep-walks,  and 
the  system  of  sheep-husbandry  practised.  The  "  four-course" 
system  is  generally  adhered  to,  but  a  "  stolen  crop"  of  turnips 
is  sometimes  obtained — the  seed  drilled  upon  the  wheat  stub 
bles,  and  the  roots  fed  off  in  the  late  autumn  and  succeeding 
spring,  and  the  next  crop  in  the  course  being  mangolds.  The 
quantity  of  mangolds  grown  is  increasing,  compared  with  tur 
nips,  so  far  as  his  observations  extended  in  Great  Britain. 

The  sheep  of  that  part  of  England  are  prolific  mothers  and 
good  milkers,  and  are  consequently  in  'demand.  Mr.  C.  had  a 
flock  of  about  2,000  breeding  ewes,  with  which  he  puts  a 
Leicester  or  Southdown  "  tup."  The  lambs  it  is  his  practice  to 
sell,  the  autumn  after  they  are  one  year  old,  or  indeed  any  time 
during  that  season  according  to  circumstances  ;  and  the  price 
received  for  them  varies  with  age  and  quality,  from  $7.50  all 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  83 

the  way  up  to  $15  per  head.  The  lambs  are  dropped  about 
March,  and  when  they  are  ready  to  wean  after  harvest,  are  put 
out  upon  the  stubbles  to  eat  the  "  seeds"  that  were  sown  in  the 
spring,  and  at  night  perhaps  folded  upon  a  turnip  field  as  soon 
as  the  latter  is  ready.  But  Mr.  0.  keeps  a  great  many  sheep 
out  a-boarding,  as  we  might  express  it ;  that  is,  there  are  many 
smaller  farmers,  who  do  not  have  the  means  of  keeping  a  large 
flock  the  year  round,  and  who  are  glad  to  take  in  those  of  their 
neighbors  both  upon  their  stubbles  and  to  eat  their  turnips. 
For  the  lambs  thus  sent  out  upon  stubbles  on  other  farms, 
about  3  cents  a  head  per  week  is  paid.  The  price  paid  for  tur 
nip  land  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  6  cents  a  week  for  each  head, 
though  it  varies  with  the  character  of  the  crop,  &c. ;  when  it 
does  not  exceed  this  price,  Mr.  C.  considers  that  there  is  room 
for  profit  to  the  owner  of  the  sheep.  Sometimes  he  has  flocks  at 
a  distance  of  50  miles  or  even  more,  and  a  great  advantage  of 
this  method  to  the  small  farmer,  arises  from  the  fact,  that  while 
the  few  sheep  he  would  want  to  keep  might  be  all  winter 
in  eating  his  turnips  off,  if  500  or  600  come  upon  his  fields 
at  once,  they  are  all  cleared  by  Christmas  and  ready  for  plow 
ing. 

In  a  train  on  the  way  into  Lincolnshire  Mr.  Tucker  met  a 
farmer  of  that  county  who  had  sheared,  the  preceding  spring, 
1,200  sheep,  a  large  number  for  a  farm  of  eight  hundred  and 
fifty  acres.  He  had  mentioned  also  the  practice  which  some 
of  us  have  advocated  and  others  decried  so  strongly — that  of 
spreading  the  manure  upon  the  wheat-lands  some  time  before 
plowing  up  the  stubble  of  the  clover  crop,  and  permitting  it  to  re 
main  in  exposure ;  a  method  of  which  he  was  strongly  in  favor, 
and  which  has  been  long  and  successfully  practised  by  John 
Johnston  and  others  in  this  country. 

The  next  visit  spoken  of  was  at  Aylesby,  also  in  Lincolnshire, 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Torr,  a  noted  Shorthorn  breeder,  and  ex 
tensive  farmer.  He  cultivates  about  2,100  acres,  mostly  of 
"  fen"  land,  although  not  of  that  lower  kind  requiring  drainage 


84  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

by  steam  or  wind  power.  He  was  an  ardent  believer  in  deep 
drainage,  and  had  spent  during  the  year  before  not  less  than 
$10,000  for  oil-cake,  guano,  .and  artificial  manures.  He  had 
500  acres  in  wheat,  250  in  barley,  100  in  oats,  415  in  mangolds 
and  turnips,  335  in  artificial,  and  the  remainder  in  permanent 
grass.  He  annually  shears  about  2,000  sheep,  and  has  an 
annual  show  and  "  letting"  of  breeding  "  tups."  His  average 
crop  of  wheat  is  nearly  40  bushels  per  acre  (say  36  to  38),  bad 
years  with  good,  and  he  thought  that  the  whole  county  would 
be  from  30  to  32. 

Some  remarks  followed  upon  the  expense  incurred  by  Eng 
lish  farmers  to  remove  quack,  couch,  or  twitch  grass,  as  it  is 
variously  called,  and  the  presence  of  which  is  considered  inimi 
cal  to  any  crop.  A  description  of  the  mode  of  plowing  advo 
cated  by  Mr.  Melvin,  an  intelligent  gentlemen  and  farmer  in 
Mid-Lothian,  then  succeeded.  The  important  points  in  the 
construction  of  the  plow  were  such  a  medium  length  in  the 
mold-board  as  not  to  break  up  the  furrow-slice  too  much,  as 
it  will  if  it  is  too  short,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  not  to  polish 
off  its  exposed  surface  too  smoothly,  instead  of  leaving  it  so 
rent  and  torn  that  the  elements  will  act  properly  in  the  disin 
tegration  of  its  particles.  Above  all,  however,  a  plow  should 
turn  a  clean  furrow,  for  if  the  earth  anywhere  adheres  to  the 
mold-board,  the  friction  wastes  power,  the  furrow  is  imperfect 
ly  turned,  weeds  are  not  covered  in,  and  the  old  surface  is  not 
well  turned  under. 

On  the  Tay,  opposite  the  noted  Carse  of  Gowrie,  he  had 
found  a  seven-year  course  of  rotation  in  vogue,  viz. :  1,  wheat ; 
2,  barley;  3,  grass ;  4,  oats;  5,  potatoes,  or  beans;  6,  wheat;  and 
lastly,  turnips.  The  soil  is  so  stiff  that  a  very  good  drain  is 
made  by  simply  digging  a  channel  of  several  inches'  depth  with 
a  shoulder  on  each  side  of  it,  in  the  bottom  of  the  drain,  and 
covering  it  (the  channel  so  formed)  with  flat  stones;  this  being 
nothing  else  than  the  "shoulder  drain"  already  described  by 
Judge  French.  Grain  appeared  to  be  more  generally  sown 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  85 

broadcast  than  drilled  in  Scotland.  The  women  were  at  that 
time  at  work  reaping ;  five  women  with  sickles,  to  one  man 
binding,  and  the  whole  gang  paid  12  shillings  sterling,  say  $3 
per  acre. 

One  of  the  last  visits  before  leaving  England  had  been  made 
in  quite  an  opposite  direction,  namely,  among  the  hop-gardens 
of  Kent.  As  there  was  one  lecture  in  the  course  devoted  to 
that  plant,  he  gave  a  few  facts  in  regard  to  the  general  system 
of  farming  pursued.  The  farm  he  had  seen  was  one  of  two 
hundred  and  seventy  acres,  and  a  vineyard  rotation  was  prac 
tised.  For  example  :  1,  turnips ;  2,  barley,  or  oats ;  3,  wurtzel; 
4,  wheat ;  5,  red  clover ;  6,  wheat ;  7,  barley,  or  oats ;  8,  beans, 
or  peas;  and  9,  wheat — thus  securing  five  white  crops,  three 
of  them  wheat,  to  four  green  crops.  To  take  this  rotation  from 
the  beginning,  the  turnip  crop  will  have  been  preceded  by 
wheat ;  after  that  was  harvested,  a  kind  of  plow  or  cultivator, 
called  a  broadshare,  was  passed  over  the  land,  a  flat  point 
eighteen  inches  wide  being  carried  about  three  inches  below 
the  surface,  not  turning  over  the  ground  at  all,  but  cutting  off 
the  roots,  and  killing  the  weeds.  By  this  operation  and  the 
subsequent  harrowing,  the  ground  is  so  stirred  that  the  seeds 
of  noxious  plants,  as  well  as  those  self-sown  by  the  last  crop, 
will  vegetate.  Immediately  after  the  broadshare,  the  harrow 
is  twice  used  to  free  the  ground  from  the  stubble,  which  is 
gathered  in  rows  every  fifteen  or  twenty  rods,  according  to 
quantity,  and  if  thought  worth  the  labor,  or  in  default  of  straw 
enough,  this  is  carried  to  the  yards,  to  be  trodden  into  manure ; 
otherwise  it  is  burnt.  A  second  plowing  takes  place,  if  possi 
ble,  before  the  middle  of  October,  say  eight  inches  deep,  bury 
ing  any  vegetation  that  has  started,  and  throwing  the  soil  into 
furrows  as  rough  as  possible,  in  order  that  the  frost  may  act 
upon  it ;  for  the  rougher  and  the  larger  lumps  in  which  it  lies, 
the  better  will  a  spontaneous  disintegration  be  effected  during 
winter.  The  next  process  is  a  plowing  the  last  of  March  or  the 
first  of  April,  after  which  the  land  is  harrowed  twice,  and  roll- 


86  YALE  AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

ed.  The  second  spring  plowing  is  done  with  the  broadshare, 
and  after  another  harrowing  and  rolling,  the  manure  is  carted 
out  and  spread,  and  plowed  in  six  or  seven  inches  deep.  Then 
there  is  another  harrowing  and  rolling,  and  the  land  lies  about 
a  fortnight,  when,  if  the  weather  is  dry,  the  broadshare  maybe 
once  more  employed.  Swede  turnips  are  sown  about  the  first 
week  in  July,  and  white  turnips  about  the  third  week — about 
half  and  half  of  each  being  grown.  If  mangolds  was  the  crop, 
the  preparation  of  the  land  for  it  would  be  similar,  except  that 
one  plowing  would  be  omitted,  as  the  seed  is  sown  the  second 
week  in  May. 

The  lecture  was  concluded  with  an  extended  and  detailed 
statement  of  the  notes  gathered  at  Burley  Hall,  the  residence 
of  Thomas  Horsfall,  Esq.,  whose  experiments  in  stock-feeding 
and  in  dairy  management  have  attracted  so  wide  attention.  A 
minute  account  was  given  of  his  fields,  meadows,  and  pasture, 
of  his  farm  buildings,  his  dairy  room,  &c.  Upon  not  quite 
sixty  acres  of  land  he  was  keeping  the  following  stock : 

Heifers  and  Bullocks 21  I  Old  Sheep 64 

Milch  Cows 20  I  Lambs 106 

Likewise,  4  pigs,  2  horses  and  a  pony. 

Being  a  total,  small  cattle  and  large,  of  218  head. 

The  interest  of  this  farm  is  chiefly  in  its  stock  and  in  its  grass 
fields.  The  sheep  (ewes)  Mr.  Horsfall  generally  purchases  in 
October,  to  the  number,  of  say  fifty;  paying  about  $11  25 
apiece.  Fifty-nine,  a  cross  of  the  Cheviot  male  on  Leicester 
ewes,  procured  in  the  autumn  of  1858,  had  brought  him  the  one 
hundred  and  -ix  lambs  he  had  to  sell  in  1859.  These  were  sold 
before  the  cud  of  July,  the  purchaser  taking  any  before  if  he 
chose,  at  about  $6  each.  The  ewes  are  fattened  and  sold  in 
the  fall,  fetching  about  $12  25  each,  being  $1  advance  on  the 
purchase  money,  she  having  brought  him  during  his  posses 
sion  of  her  a  lamb  and  a  fleece  besides.  The  bullocks  fattened 
on  the  farm  are  bought  in  April  or  May,  grazed  through  the 
summer,  stall-fed  in  the  early  autumn,  and  sold  in  November, 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  87 

Cows  are  generally  bought  just  after  the  second  calving, 
though  a  good  cow  is  bought  at  three  or  four  years  old  and  at 
any  season.  They  are  milked  from  three  to  four  years;  though 
only  the  longer  period  when  their  good  qualities  seem  to  war 
rant  it.  They  go  dry  from  two  to  three  months  in  the  year, 
and  by  skill  in  selection  they  average  twenty  quarts  per  day, 
when  fresh.  The  breed  preferred  is  a  cross,  half  Shorthorn 
and  half  Highland,  a  sort  plenty  in  that  vicinity.  He  generally 
pays  about  $75  per  head.  The -cows  are  kept  in  good  order, 
Mr.  Horsfall  maintaining  that  his  success  depends  on  this,  and 
that  at  the  end  of  a  cow's  sixth  year,  when  her  milking  quali 
ties  begin  to  fail,  he  has  an  animal  ready,  by  a  little  "finish 
ing,"  for  the  butcher,  thus  getting  both  the  milk-man's  and  the 
stall-feeder's  profit  out  of  the  same  animal.  But  it  is  the  man 
agement  of  the  pasture  and  meadow-lands  which  claims  our 
special  attention.  Fourteen  acres  of  meadow  can  pasture 
twenty  cows  and  twenty-four  sheep,  with  a  little  assistance, 
till  the  middle  of  October.  Another  lot  of  twenty  acres,  every 
foot  of  which  the  cattle  will  eat,  has  usually  supported  one 
bullock  and  a  sheep  and  a  half  to  each  acre.  To  these  pastures 
the  stock  is  not  admitted  until  the  grass  is  well  up,  this  being 
a  security  against  drouth.  Previous  to  this  they  graze  in  the 
mowing  lands,  which  are  cut  down  close  by  them,  but  which 
produce  at  the  end  of  June  two  tons  and  a  half  to  the  acre, 
besides  a  second  crop,  or  after-math. 

The  best  pasture  is  a  deep  alluvial  loam,  but  the  meadow, 
an  irrigated  one,  is  a  thin  soil,  and  a  stony  clay.  The  irriga 
ting  water  is  the  sewerage  of  the  village  of  Burley  flowing  into 
a  small  brook  which  is  turned  on  to  the  meadow  at  the  highest 
point,  and  conducted  in  channels  to  all  parts  of  it.  It  runs  on 
during  the  winter ;  is  turned  off  in  the  spring  to  allow  of  graz 
ing  ;  turned  on  again  to  start  the  grass,  then  off  to  harvest  it, 
and  on  again  to  start  the  second  crop.  The  "  little  assistance  " 
which  the  pastures  have  in  supporting  these  animals,  is  a  small 
quantity  of  cooked  food,  when  the  feed  begins  to  foil  in  Au- 


88  YALE  AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

gust,  given  to  the  cows.  They  are  stabled  at  night,  and  receive 
a  "foddering  "  of  grass  often  cut  from  the  pasture  itself,  where 
the  droppings  of  the  animals  have  caused  a  growth  too  rank  to 
be  eaten  in  the  field.  In  the  hot  season  the  animals  are  stabled 
during  the  day,  and  let  out  to  graze  in  the  night.  Of  grasses, 
Mr.  Horsfall  prefers  the  poas  and  festucas — what  is  there  call 
ed  meadow  grass,  being  the  best  known  variety  of  the  former 
genus.  All  his  lands  are  drained ;  the  lines  of  tile  running 
eight  yards  apart  and  three  to  four  feet  deep  ;  the  latter  depth 
being  preferred. 

A  description  was  given  of  one  of  the  stables  for  feeding,  in 
cluding  the  measurements  made  upon  the  spot.  The  roof  is  of 
slate,  with  a  thatch  underneath.  The  stalls  are  about  three 
feet  nine  inches  wide,  and  the  cattle  fastened  by  sliding  rings 
and  stanchions  about  a  foot  back  from  the  manger.  At  the 
upper  part  of  the  stall  lies  a  cocoanut  mat,  about  three  feet 
square,  with  straw  underneath,  the  whole  fastened  securely 
down.  Behind  this  mat,  the  only  bedding  the  animal  has  is  a 
grate,  allowing  the  passage  of  the  manure  into  a  tank  under 
neath,  which  tank  is  accessible  from  the  outside  of  the  building. 

The  manure  removed  from  this  tank  is  mixed  with  the  scrap 
ings  of  the  road  and  the  cleanings  of  the  ditches,  and  applied 
to  the  meadows  at  the  rate  of  a  dozen  loads  to  the  acre,  just 
previous  to  a  shower.  There  being  no  straw  or  coarse  mate 
rial,  it  is  immediately  washed  in.  The  time  of  manuring  the 
meadows  is  as  soon  after  mowing  as  the  weather  is  suitable, 
and  for  the  pastures  the  winter  season.  Liquid  manure  is  also 
applied  to  the  spots  of  the  pasture  where  the  grass  is  coarse  or 
wiry,  and  also  to  spots  comparatively  bare.  Three  or  four 
doses  are  given  during  the  winter,  but  if  there  is  an  excess  of 
liquid  manure,  it  is  poured  into  the  stream  which  irrigates  the 
meadows.  The  manure  from  an  animal,  if  properly  cared  for, 
is  estimated  on  this  farm  at  $25  per  year.  In  regard  to  the 
use  of  liquid  manure,  Mr.  Horsfall  disagrees  with  Dr.  Voelcker's 
theory,  published  in  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society's  Journal, 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  89 

that  "soils  containing  a  fair  proportion  of  clay,  especially  stiff 
clay  soils,"  are  not  benefited  by  its  application.  The  expe 
rience  of  Mr.  H.  is  to  the  contrary.  Dr.  Y.  also  advocates  di 
luting  liquid  manures ;  Mr.  H.  objects,  and  thinks  the  former 
draws  his  conclusions  too  exclusively  from  the  Flemish  farm 
ers  of  Belgium. 

The  food  for  winter  feeding  is  steamed,  the  rations  for  each 
cow  being  —  rape-cake,  5  pounds;  bran,  1^  pounds;  malt 
combs,  3fa  pounds ;  Indian  meal,  1  pound ;  with  straw,  cut  to  fa 
inch  in  length,  10  to  12  pounds.  This  mixture  is  dampened, 
care  being  taken  in  this  particular,  as  the  laxative  qualities  de 
pend  on  the  amount  of  moisture  it  contains,  and  then  steamed 
one  hour.  The  materials  are  changed  according  to  the  price. 
The  weekly  cost  of  this  cooking  is  four  cents  per  head, — one 
man,  with  a  little  help  in  milking,  having  the  charge  of  twenty 
cows.  The  price  at  which  the  milk  is  sold  is  four  cents  per 
quart,  and  as  the  demand  does  not  always  come  up  to  the  sup 
ply,  the  remainder  is  used  for  butter-making. 

Everything  he  had  seen  of  Mr.  Horsfall's  practice,  in  fine, 
could  not  be  regarded  as  less  instructive  than  his  essays  have 
been,  and  the  two  consulted  together,  furnish  facts  of  univer 
sal  value,  and  hints  as  well  capable  of  being  turned  to  good 
account  here  as  in  England. 

At  7fa  in  the  evening,  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  of  Boston, 
gave  a  very  fine  lecture  upon  "  The  Profits  of  Farming  and  the 
Position  of  the  Farmer."  To  20,000  lawyers,  and  100,000  mer 
chants  in  our  country  in  1840,  there  were  2,400,000  farmers, 
and  the  number  would  not  fall  short  of  3,000,000  now.  The 
first  question  always  asked  about  farming  is,  Will  it  pay  ?  Will 
the  returns  for  all  my  labor  be  remunerative  ?  He  then  pro 
ceeded  to  consider  the  gentlemen  farmers  who  work  for  amuse 
ment,  as  not  coming  properly  within  the  category.  And  there 
the  contrast  was  strikingly  drawn  between  the  English  or  Con 
tinental  farmer,  whose  rents  and  taxes  are  enormous,  and  who 
farm  at  the  worst  advantage,  and  the  free  noble  American  cul- 


90  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

tivator  of  the  soil.  The  first  error  in  New  England  is  in  keep- 
ing  the  accounts  too  loosely.  Not  one  farmer  in  ten  knows 
what  it  costs  to  raise  a  cow  or  a  crop  of  corn.  In  England  an 
exact  account  is  kept  with  every  field.  Another  error  is  the 
want  of  economy  in  modes  of  farming.  Two  things  are  re 
quired  for  successful  farming — intelligence  and  capital.  "Ex 
periment,"  says  Liebig,  "  is  a  question  put  to  nature,  and  the 
result  is  her  answer."  Two  things,  labor  and  manure,  are  also 
necessary  for  a  large  return.  It  has  been  said  that  the  requi 
sites  for  success  are  three :  First,  manure  ;  second,  manure  /  and 
third,  MANURE.  The  real  profits  of  the  farm  arise  from  the  cir 
culating  capital.  An  English  farmer  who  had  just  leased  a 
farm  for  $8,000,  spent  $50,000  for  stock,  tools,  seeds,  &c.  A 
farmer  can't  afford  to  own  bank  stock,  for  he  wants  the  money 
in  his  business.  All  the  manure  that -is  requisite  should  be  the 
product  of  the  farm.  Dr.  Dana,  of  Lowell,  ascertained  that 
each  cow  gives,  when  housed,  seven  cords  of  manure  annually, 
and  when  mixed  with  two  cords  swamp  muck  or  peat  to  one  of 
manure,  would  give  21  cords  of  dressing  equal  to  that  of  the 
barn-yard.  It  is  worth  from  $5  to  $8  per  cord.  The  milk  the 
same  cow  would  give  would  be  worth  at  the  outside  $65.76, 
while  the  manure  would  be  worth  from  $105  to  $168,  and  this 
is  usually  lost.  Mr.  Quincy  then  drew  a  parallel  between  the 
wealthy  merchant  and  the  successful  farmer,  making  the  aver 
age  life  of  the  latter  double  that  of  the  former,  and  he  also 
carrying  out  more  fully  the  designs  of  the  Creator,  and  finding 
health  and  happiness  the  truer  recompense.  He  closed  with 
an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  worth  of  the  American  Farmer,  and 
his  value  now,  as  in  Revolutionary  days,  to  our  common  re 
public. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  91 


TWELFTH  DAY.— FEB.  14,  1860. 

Judge  HENRY  F.  FREXCH,  of  New  Hampshire,  told  us,  on 
being  first  introduced  to  the  Convention,  that  he  was  not  an 
orator ;  but  his  audiences  of  yesterday  and  to-day  are,  if  I  may 
judge  from  their  expressions  at  the  close  of  the  two  discourses, 
convinced  that  he  is  possessed  of  the  eloquence  of  facts,  more 
useful  to  us  than  the  other  glittering  qualification.  He  com 
menced  this  morning  by  saying  a  good  thing  boldly,  viz. :  that 
open  ditches  obstruct  good  husbandry,  a  fact  which  the  oppo 
nents  to  covered  drains  would  do  well  to  remember.  Open 
ditches  occupy  much  land  needlessly ;  they  cause  constant  turn 
ing  at  headlands  ;  their  influence  on  the  area  of  soil  is  not  uni 
form,  as  the  parts  nearest  them  are  dried  while  the  rest  is  left 
as  wet  as  ever ;  in  heavy  rains  not  only  is  much  soil  washed 
into  them,  but,  along  with  it,  manure  that  at  labor  and  expense 
has  been  applied ;  their  banks  washing  away,  the  bottoms  soon 
get  filled  up,  and  require  frequent  cleaning  out ;  and  their 
sides  and  boundary  strips  afford  a  refuge  to  weeds,  and  a  home 
to  rats,  mice,  and  other  vermin.  Sometimes,  as  "headers"  to 
cut  off  the  inflow  of  water  to  a  field,  they  may  be  of  use ;  and 
again,  on  very  level  land,  a  great  canal-like  ditch  may  be  em 
ployed,  in  lieu  of  a  natural  water-course,  to  receive  the  drain 
age  of  a  farm  ;  but  these  are  the  exceptions  to  a  general  rule. 
The  various  kinds  of  drains  were  in  turn  described,  the  lecturer 
observing  that  there  might  be  circumstances  where  tiles  could 
not  be  had,  and  thence  these  several  substitutes  could  be  tol 
erated  as  makeshifts.  In  brush  drains,  the  durability  of  the 
material  depends  not  so  much  upon  its  keeping  nature  as  on  the 
piivsiccil  and  other  character  of  the  soil.  Thus,  he  had  known 
an  instance  of  white-birch,  which  one  would  think  would  decay 
in  a  year,  having  remained  in  a  brush  drain  for  six  years  almost 
as  fresh  as  when  cut. 

The   reason  for  its  preservation  was,  that  it  had  been  sub- 


92  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

merged  in  water  continually.  Into  brush-drains  soil  very  easily 
falls,  and  soan  here  and  there  the  superincumbent  mass  caves 
in,  sometimes  to  such  an  extent  that  a  wagon-load  of  dirt  is 
required  to  fill  the  sinks  ;  mice  and  moles  work  into  them,  too, 
and  at  best  they  are  poor  concerns.  The  mole-plowing  now 
practised  on  Western  prairies  is,  for  a  new  country  where  land 
is  so  cheap,  and  where  a  sticky  clay  sub-soil  underlies  whole 
districts,  a  tolerably  good  plan.  It  lias  been  known  and  prac 
tised  in  England  since  almost  the  time  of  Methuseleh.  Major 
Dickinson  of  Steuben  county,  New  York,  has  gotten  up  one 
of  these  ancient  mole-plows,  and  dubbed  it  "  the  Shanghae." 
Drains  are  made  in  some  "  wooden  countries,"  by  laying  two 
stout  poles  at  bottom  and  one  on  them.  In  Scotland  they  have 
in  some  benighted  sections  a  "shoulder"  drain,  which  consists 
in  digging  down,  say  18  inches  wide,  to  a  certain  depth,  and 
then  cutting  the  rest  of  the  way  down  only  one-third  as  wide ; 
thus  making  a  narrow  box  drain  in  the  ground  on  the  shoulders 
of  which  inverted  stiff  sods  are  laid  as  a  covering,  and  the  soil 
filled  up  to  the  surface  upon  them.  Stone  drains  he  esteems 
next  in  utility  to  tiles,  but  there  is  great  choice  in  their  con 
struction.  The  best  way  of  all  is  to  set  up  one  course  of  slab 
stones  perpendicularly  against  the  right  bank,  and  then  leaning 
other  stones  against  them,  making  a  drain  siiapod  like  a  single- 
pitch  shed-roof.  If  the  stones  are  delivered  to  a  farmer  at  the 
edge  of  his  ditches,  they  are  still  dearer  for  his  use  than  tile 
drains,  even  when  he  has  to  pay  $10  or  $12  per  1,000  for  tile. 
The  mere  cost  of  excavating  and  hauling  bowlders  for  drains  is 
very  large,  and  after  all,  their  function  is  unsatisfactory.  The 
reason  why  all  these  kinds  of  drains  have  been  stoutly  upheld 
by  their  users  is,  that  any  drain,  however  poor,  is  far  better 
than  none  ;  crops  are  increased,  tillage  facilitated,  and  the 
pleased  experimenter,  perhaps  not  willing  to  look  for  a  better 
method  than  the  one  he  has  employed,  thinks  there  is  nothing 
in  the  world  so  good.  Tile  drains,  then,  we  are  told,  are  the 
best.  Of  the  several  kinds  of  tile,  the  pipe  kind  is  to  be  pre- 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  93 

ferred.  No  tiles  are  burned,  without  warping  and  shrinking ; 
now  the  ends  should  be  well  fitted  together,  and  no  kind  but 
pipe-tile  can  be  turned  over  to  make  good  fits,  one  with  an 
other,  and  still  be  right  side  up.  This  is  the  objection  to  the 
sole-tile,  made  at  Albany  and  elsewhere,  and  largely  employed. 
They  must  be  set  sole  down,  and  if  the  lot  purchased  be  much 
warped,  a  straight  water-course  cannot  be  insured,  and  the  dram, 
is  correspondingly  unreliable.  The  objection  to  "  horseshoe  " 
tile  is,  that  in  a  soft  bottom  its  narrow  sides  sink  so  as  to  render 
the  drain  sometimes  useless;  besides  which,  they,  having  a 
heavy  weight  to  bear  upon  an  unarched  bottom,  are  liable  to 
split  lengthwise  through  the  back ;  and,  further,  the  stream  of 
water  spread  over  a  flat  surface  cannot  run  so  rapidly,  and  is 
less  able  to  sweep  away  obstructions,  as  when  the  same  volume 
is  condensed  into  tubular  form,  narrowed  at  the  bottom. 
Thinking  that  water  could  not  get  into  the  close-fitted  and 
close-textured  tiles,  many  in  Scotland,  in  former  times,  put  a 
foot  or  so  of  small  stones  over  their  tile,  and  soil  upon  that — a 
foolish  and  expensive  process  this,  for  there  is  no  trouble  to 
get  water  into  your  insignificant-looking  drains — it  takes  care 
of  that  itself;  the  trouble  has  been  to  account  for  its  wonder 
ful  inpouring  through  such  small  orifices.  Parkes,  the  great 
English  drainer,  states,  after  experiments,  that  only  5J0  of 
the  water  gets  through  the  pores  of  the  tile ;  the  balance  is 
admitted  through  the  joints.  English  farmers  make  their 
ditches  a  foot  wide  at  top,  four  inches  at  the  bottom,  and  with 
an  appropriate  tool,  scoop  out  a  little  round  trough  in  which  to 
lay  their  pipes.  The  soil  is  then  packed  upon  them,  without  fur 
ther  trouble  or  anxiety  as  to  the  result.  Drains  well  laid  last 
more  than  fifty  years.  A  half  century  is  the  time  counted 
upon  by  the  English  land  drainage  companies,  at  the  end  of 
which  the  whole  amount  of  their  loans  to  the  farmer  is  to  be 
paid  in.  Water  enters  tile-drains  at  bottom,  not  at  top ;  for 
the  same  reason  that  if  you  pour  water  into  a  cask  of  sand, 
with  holes  made  in  the  sides  at  several  heights,  the  lowest  hole 


94  YALE   AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

will  discharge  first,  and  the  top  one  last.  The  capacity  of  pipe- 
tile  is  in  proportion  to  the  squares  of  their  diameter :  Thus,  if 
an  inch  tile  will  carry  one  inch  of  water,  a  two-inch  will  carry 
four  inches,  a  three-inch  nine,  and  so  on.  Inch  tiles,  therefore, 
although  perhaps  large  enough  to  hold  all  the  water  that  we 
would  discharge  from  our  fields,  are  practically  not  large 
enough,  for  they  become  filled  at  say  half  way  down  the  slope, 
and  of  course  all  the  ground  they  pass  through  after  that  might 
as  well  have  no  tiles  beneath  it.  A  two-inch  bore  is  the 
smallest  Judge  French  would  recommend  for  general  use,  and 
although  previously  a  friend  to  smaller  sizes.  I  feel  convinced 
of  the  justness  of  his  arguments,  and  shall  hereafter  recommend 
and  use  accordingly.  Laterals  should  be  jointed  into  the 
mains,  pointing  doion  stream^  and  enter  the  mains  near  the 
top ;  by  this  plan  a  good  fall  and  unimpeded  discharge  are 
insured.  In  respect  to  the  minimum  of  fall  consistent  with 
good  function  of  tile  drains,  the  lecturer  stated  that  one  inch 
fall  in  each  rod  of  length  was  ample;  three  inches  to  the  100 
feet  was  a  fair  proportion,  but  then  the  tiles  should  be  larger ; 
and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  calculation. 

Before  the  morning  lecture,  a  discussion  was  held  at  the 
Temple,  as  usual,  in  which  any  person  present  was  at  liberty  to 
participate. 

Mr.  QUINCT  alluded  to  the  advantages  of  the  soiling  system 
— his  pet  subject — in  doing  away  with  interior  fences  on  a  farm. 
These,  said  he,  are  a  great  nuisance,  besides  taking  up  valuable 
space;  they  hinder  plowing,  raking,  tedding,  and  other  opera 
tions  of  farming  by  horse-power.  Tedding  by  horse  power  is 
something  new  in  this  country,  though  practised  in  England 
extensively.  The  tedder  is  a  cylinder,  revolving  on  an  axle 
supported  by  two  wheels,  like  a  Delano  horse-rake.  This 
cylinder  revolves  with  rapidity,  and  is  furnished  with  teeth, 
which  pick  up  the  grass  and  flirt  it  off  in  a  shower  behind  the 
machine.  It  will  do  the  work  of  ten  or  twelve  of  those  Irish 
gentlemen  who  pick  up  and  turn  over  every  lick  of  hay  as 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  95 

though  they  were  fearful  of  breaking  it.  The  horse-fork  is 
also  a  labor-saving  instrument ;  it  also  avoids  the  very  disa 
greeable  work  of  unloading  hay  in  a  hot  day  and  in  a  close 
barn. 

But  the  great  advantage  of  the  soiling  system  is,  it  saves 
manure.  It  economizes  food,  it  is  true,  and  keeps  cattle  in 
better  condition,  but  its  chief  excellence  consists  in  the  amount 
of  manure  it  will  make.  The  solid  manure  from  each  animal, 
kept  up  the  year  round,  will  average  three  and  a  half  cords  a 
year ;  this,  with  the  liquid  manure  composted,  as  it  ought  to 
be,  with  muck,  will  make  twenty  cords,  of  a  value  equal  to 
that  usually  carted  out  from  a  farmer's  barn-yard.  Four  or 
five  hundred  cords  of  muck  are  annually  dug  out  on  his  farm, 
and  left  exposed  to  the  weather  in  winter.  This  is  used,  when 
dry,  to  put  behind  the  cattle  in  a  trench  made  for  the  purpose. 
After  it  is  saturated,  it  is  removed  to.  a  cellar  below,  where  it 
would  be  worked  over  by  the  pigs  were  it  not  too  miry  for 
them  to  work  in.  This  makes,  in  the  course  of  a  year,  a  vast 
pile  of  manure ;  so  much,  indeed,  as  to  remind  one  of  the 
Augean  stables  of  antiquity,  and  to  seem  to  require  the  ser 
vices  of  a  second  Hercules  for  its  removal.  The  soiling  system 
is  almost  universally  adopted  in  Europe ;  it  may  not  be  practi 
cable  here,  except  on  a  large  scale,  though  almost  every  farmer 
can  use  it  to  help  him  through  the  drouths  of  our  summers. 
In  case  the  drouth  does  not  come,  his  crops,  which  he  has 
planted  for  soiling,  can  be  cut  and  made  into  fodder  for 
winter  use.  The  supply  of  milk,  under  the  soiling  system,  is 
much  more  regular,  because  the  cows  are  regularly  fed,  regu 
larly  attended,  and  fed  always  with  the  same  kind  of  food. 
For  soiling,  sow  winter  rye,  to  be  cut  early  in  the  spring,  and 
in  the  spring  sow  oats  or  barley  every  ten  days,  so  as  to  have 
a  regular  supply  in  just  the  right  season, — that  is,  when  the 
plant  is  in  its  milk.  Indian  corn  is  also  a  good  crop  for  later 
use. 

Mr.  Quincy  here  spoke  of  seeding  down  land  to  grass.     He 


96  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

had  found  it  a  good  plan  to  break  up  a  meadow  after  haying  : 
manure  well  on  the  turned  soil,  and  sow  grass  seed  only.  The 
next  season  he  had  cut  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  tons  to  the 
acre,  where  the  previous  season  he  had  cut  almost  nothing. 

Question — Do  you  buy  any  manure  ? — No  ;  but  I  buy  cot 
ton  seed  cake  to  feed  my  cows.  This  is,  at  present  prices,  the 
most  valuable  feed  to  be  had, — a  ton  of  it  being  worth,  at  the 
chemist's  estimate,  three  tons  of  hay.  It  is  now  worth  $27  per 
ton  in  Boston.  Linseed  cake  is  also  valuable,  and  English 
farmers  wonder  how  American  farmers  will  let  it  be  exported 
in  such  vast  quantities  as  it  is. 

Judge  FRENCH  asked  Mr.  Quincy  if  he  fed  roots. — No  ; 
Linseed  cake  and  hay  is  the  sole  food — three  pounds  of  the 
former  per  day,  with  cut  hay. 

Mr.  BARTLETT  asked  what  Mr.  Quincy's  advice  would  be  to 
young  farmers  here,  in  regard  to  going  west — alluding  to  Mr. 
Q.'s  travels  there. 

Answer — If  a  young  man  will  be  content  with  the  same  liv 
ing  here  that  he  will  be  obliged  to  put  up  with  there,  he  can 
make  money  here  as  well  as  there.  They  have  no  idea  of 
what  decent  living  is  there.  Then,  too,  there  is  no  society  at 
the  west — no  schools,  fit  to  be  called  such — no  aristocracy. 
There  is  a  perfect  equality  there ;  your  Irish  gentleman  who 
curries  your  horse  feels  himself  to  be  your  equal,  and  not  un- 
frequently  your  superior.  Civilization  is  in  an  embryo  state, 
society  not  yet  having  advanced  to  that  perfection  which  we 
see  at  the  east. 

Question — How  does  soiling  affect  breeding  ? 

Answer — I  do  not  think  it  prejudical.  I  am  not  a  stock 
raiser  myself,  but  farm  merely  for  the  profit.  I  buy  my  cows 
in  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  though  sometimes  I  raise  a 
likely  heifer  calf.  There  are  cows  in  my  stable  whose  maternal 
ancestors  have  been  there  for  eight  or  ten  generations  past. 

Mr.  TUCKER  asked  if  ventilation  was  attended  to. — Yes,  and 
with  great  care. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  97 

Question — Is  lucerne  grown  on  your  farm  ? — It  is  difficult  to 
make  it  yield  a  good  crop,  and  I  don't  consider  it  profitable. 

Mr.  Quincy  was  here  obliged  to  leave  the  Convention,  and 
the  subject  of  root  crops  was  introduced  by  Judge  FRENCH, 
and  an  animated  debate  held  on  this  topic  until  the  lecture 
hour  arrived. 


THIRTEENTH  DAY.— FEB.  15,  1860. 

Prof.  BREWER  opened  his  Tobacco  lecture  yesterday  with  a 
rapid  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  imperial  weed,  and  referred 
to  the  pains  and  penalties  which  attended  its  use  under  succes 
sive  sovereigns.  The  chemical  composition  of  the  plant  is  very 
remarkable,  and  worthy  of  serious  study  by  present  and  pros 
pective  growers.  Nicotine,  the  deadly  principle  to  which  all 
the  ill  effects  of  tobacco  are  due,  is,  as  every  one  knows,  a 
deadly  poison.  Besides  this,  the  plant  contains  a  number  of 
acids,  resins,  and  volatile  oils.  The  strength  of  tobacco  is 
determined  by  the  quantity  of  nicotine  ;  the  flavor  by  the  oils 
and  resins.  The  ash  is  of  all  the  most  important  to  the  farmer, 
for  this  is  made  up  from  his  available  plant  food — in  other 
words,  from  his  farm  capital.  The  oils,  resins,  and  acids  come 
from  the  air,  and  hence  cost  us  nothing.  Take  a  given  quantity 
of  tobacco  and  burn  it  to  ashes,  and  we  find  that  the  proportion 
is  enormous.  The  roots  give  two  to  fourteen  per  cent,  of  ash, 
the  stems  dried  sixteen,  and  the  leaves  seventeen  to  twenty- 
four  per  cent.  As  the  leaves  are  the  great  bulk  of  the  crop, 
the  robbery  of  the  soil  is  correspondingly  great.  One  thousand 
pounds  of  tobacco  takes  an  average  of  two  hundred  pounds  of 
ash  ;  and  two  thousand  pounds,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a 
large  crop,  four  hundred  pounds  of  ash.  Now,  a  crop  of  wheat 
of  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre  takes  but  thirty-six  pounds  of  ash 

5 


98  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

from  our  farm.  In  other  words,  it  would  require  eleven  crops 
of  wheat  to  do  as  much  injury  as  u  single  crop  of  tobacco.  The 
composition  o£  the  ash  is  variable,  in  some  districts  one  of  the 
leading  ingredients  being  replaced  by  some  other.  In  an 
average  of  samples  tested  by  Prof.  Brewer,  potash  salts  formed 
a  third  part  of  their  weight,  and  seventy-five  to  eighty  per 
cent,  of  the  soluble  portion.  Soda  exists  in  but  a  small  quantity. 
Sometimes  the  potash  is  replaced  by  lime.  Thus  in  France, 
along  the  river  Garonne,  the  tobacco  has  this  peculiarity,  and 
is  noted  for  its  mildness.  In  American  tobacco,  the  potash 
salts  predominate,  and  most  so  in  the  stronger  kinds,  which 
grow  on  new  soil.  A  study  of  the  census  will  show  us,  that  in 
any  tobacco  district,  the  production  starting  at  nothing,  mounts 
rapidly  to  a  maximum,  turns  the  corner,  and  never  regains  its 
higher  figures.  The  reason  is,  that  land  can  only  bear  maxi- 

•  mum  crops  of  tobacco  for  a  short  time,  and  once  the  decline 
comes  on,  no  power  on  earth  can  restore  its  fruitfulness.  By 

•  high  manuring,  we  can,  with  other  crops,  actually  improve  the 
fertility  of  our  farms,  or  at  any  rate,  guard  against  impoverish 
ment.  With  tobacco,  if  we  manure  highly,  we  may  for  a  time 
avert  the  dies  irce,  so  far  as  bulk  of  crop  is  concerned,  but  only 
at  a  sacrifice  of  quality  so  great  as  to  destroy  our  profits.  New 
crops  have  coarse  quality  of  structure,  and  rankness  of  flavor ; 
while,  per  contra,  the  tobacco  of  finer  brands  is  gotten  from 
lands  long  cultivated.  A  thin  leaf,  with  small  pliant  veins,  is 
most  esteemed,  and  of  this  character  is  the  tobacco  of  Holland 
and  Connecticut.  The  season  of  growth  is  ordinarily  crowded 
into  forty  days,  and  the  larger  portion  of  the  soluble  salts  must 
be  at  this  headlong  speed,  supplied  to  the  spongioles.  The 
crop  is  so  tender,  that  of  all  those  we  cultivate,  it  is  the  most 
subject  to  destruction  by  hail.  In  Germany  there  are  "  Hail 
Insurance"  companies  on  the  mutual  plan.  It  is  a  notorious 
fact  that  hail-storms  extend  over  very  limited  areas  at  a  time, 
and  hence  the  farmers  of  a  whole  country  uniting  in  small 
annual  payments  toward  a  mutual  fund,  it  will  be  scon  that 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  99 

even  the  most  disastrous  hail-ravages  could  easily  be  recom 
pensed,  without  fear  of  extinguishing  the  grand  capital.  In 
considering  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  tobacco- 
culture,  Prof.  Brewer  thus  stated  the  case.  The  sole  advan 
tage  is,  that  an  individual  may  grow  rich  from  raising  it.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  nation  never  will ;  for  the  one  man's  gain  is 
obtained  at  the  cost  of  his  son  and  son's  son ;  in  getting  his 
fortune  he  has  taken  from  his  children  the  means  of  future 
gain,  like  the  owner  of  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden  eggs. 
The  crop  terribly  exhausts  the  soil ;  it  is  very  precarious  be 
cause  of  weather  and  insect  enemies ;  the  laborers  who  culti 
vate  it  suffer  in  health  ;  and  the  land,  which  must  always  be  of 
the  best  quality,  could  be  employed  in  raising  breadstuffs  to 
more  general  profit. 

Mr.  TUCKER'S  third  discourse  touched  more  generally  upon 
the  lessons  which  Americans  may  learn  from  the  well-informed 
farmers  of  Great  Britain. 

Although  the  lectures  of  the  succeeding  week  were  to  be  derot- 
ed  particularly  to  the  subject  of  domestic  animals,  one  could  not 
pretend  to  speak  of  "  English  agriculture"  and  omit  all  notice 
of  the  improvements  effected  in  English  breeding,  without 
placing  himself  in  the  position  of  the  theatrical  company  which 
proposed  to  "  play  Hamlet,"  with  the  part  of  that  distinguished 
character  himself  left  out.  The  subject  might  be  viewed  in 
two  different  ways — with  the  eye  of  the  farmer,  or  with  that 
of  the  breeder — a  distinction  of  more  importance  than  might 
be  at  first  supposed. 

After  a  review  of  the  breeds  of  cattle  of  Great  Britain,  it  was 
remarked  that  in  speaking  of  the  most  meat,  in  the  best  shape, 
in  the  least  time,  as  constituting  the  highest  type  of  excellence 
for  the  butcher,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  no  one  breed 
could  be  fixed  upon  as  universally  superior  to  all  others — even 
though  there  might  be  a  "  best  breed,"  and  undoubtedly  there 
is,  where  every  condition  is  of  the  most  favorable  kind  for 


100  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

comparative  development.  Such  conditions,  however,  are  not 
within  either  the  reach,  or  the  inclination  of  all,  and  that  may, 
therefore,  be  safely  defined  as  the  best  breed,  either  of  cattle 
or  of  any  other  race  of  animals,  whose  services  or  flesh  are  use 
ful  to  us — which  attains  the  greatest  excellence  compatible 
with  the  position  it  is  to  occupy  and  the  treatment  it  is  to  re 
ceive.  Thus,  the  requirements  of  East  and  West,  North  and 
South  may  vary  widely  as  to  details,  while  all  might  precisely 
coincide  in  the  general  desire  to  produce  the  heaviest  flesh 
upon  each  carcase  most  compactly  and  quickly. 

The  importance  of  this  point  becomes  apparent  when  we  see 
a  farmer  induced  to  try  some  improved  breed,  and  meeting 
with  the  failure  due  to  his  ill-treatment  or  simple  neglect — a 
failure  which  he  is  sure  to  charge  upon  the  "  humbug  book- 
farming  notions"  of  the  day.  There  need  be  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  the  most  highly  improved  of  foreign  breeds  are  not 
adapted  for  the  use  of  the  majority  of  our  farmers,  and  that  we 
shall  naturalize  among  ourselves  breeds  that  may  justly  be  re 
garded  as  "  the  best,"  only  as  we  learn  to  appreciate  and  treat 
them  better. 

The  question  then  arises,  What  is  the  true  course  for  our 
formers  to  take  ?  a  question  which  was  answered  by  references 
to  the  observations  made  by  the  speaker  abroad,  and  by  a 
quotation  from  "Morton's  Cyclopedia" — the  advice  derived 
from  both  being  to  the  end  that  every  farmer  should  carefully 
select  the  females  from  which  he  is  to  breed,  no  matter  what 
their  mixture  of  native  or  foreign  blood,  and  that  he  should 
never  employ  a  parent  of  the  other  sex  which  did  not  possess 
well  concentrated  merits  that  would  be  quite  certainly  impart 
ed  to  his  progeny.  "  It  is  here  that  pedigree  becomes  of  actual 
money's  worth  to  the  farmer."  Concentrated  qualities  in  the 
bull  are  those — whatever  the  degree  in  which  the  particular  in 
dividual  possesses  them — that  are  hereditary  in  the  stock  from 
which  he  springs.  In  selecting  a  bull  by  the  eye  alone,  personal 
merits  may  be  chosen,  but  the  character  of  the  progeny  will 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  101 

very  likely  revert  to  the  inferiority  of  its  remoter  parentage. 
It  need  only  be  suggested,  whether  the  improved  bull  obtained 
be  Devon  or  Shorthorn,  or  Hereford  or  Alderney — -that  his 
descent  be  unquestionably  pure,  and  that  a  line  of  action  once 
marked  out  be  perseveringly  followed — a  course  that  could  not 
but  effect  far  greater  results  in  a  period  comparatively  short, 
than  those  who  have  not  made  the  experiment  will  perhaps  at 
first  be  ready  to  admit. 

"  Division  of  labor"  has  been  strenuously  insisted  upon  by  the 
best  English  stock  authorities  in  the  business  of  raising  breed 
ing  stock.  Those  who  have  the  wealth,  the  leisure,  and  the 
taste  necessary  for  this  pursuit  should  be  allowed  to  carry  it  on, 
while  the  farmer  will  find  it  his  best  policy  to  pay  a  fair  price 
for  a  good  article,  rather  than  to  run  the  risks  of  endeavoring 
to  maintain  for  himself  a  herd  of  some  pure  and  distinct  breed. 
In  the  hope  of  obtaining  some  trait  of  superiority  he  does  not 
already  possess,  the  breeder  may  well  pay  such  prices  for  an 
animal  likely  to  beget  it  in  his  offspring,  as  it  would  be  the 
merest  folly  for  any  fanner  to  expend  for  the  worst  beef  that 
was  ever  contained  in  one  skin. 

The  English  custom  of  letting  the  services  of  bulls  as  well  as 
rams  was  then  described,  and  a  brief  account  given  of  the 
ram-letting  last  summer  of  Jonas  Webb  and  Mr.  Sanday. 

The  estimates  of  live  stock  for  Great  Britain  now  show  that 
she  supports  for  her  whole  area  the  enormous  number  of  one 
sheep  to  every  two  acres  and  a  half,  and  one  head  of  cattle  to 
every  nine  acres  and  a  quarter.  According  to  the  N".  Y.  State 
census  of  1855,  there  was  then  one  sheep  to  every  eight  eight- 
tenths  acres  (nearly),  and  one  head  of  cattle  to  13  and  a  quar 
ter  acres  (not  quite) ;  but  the  greater  weight  of  the  English 
cattle  and  sheep  over  ours  is  probably  enough  considerably  to 
increase  the  disproportion.  It  was  remarked  by  Lavergne,  and 
cannot  fail  to  have  been  observed  in  the  examples  given  of 
English  husbandry,  that  it  "  is  the  English  farmer's  first  object 
to  keep  as  many  sheep  as  possible." 


102  YALE  AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

Mr.  Tucker  conceived  that  the  first  and  most  prominent 
lesson  we  could  learn  from  the  farming  of  Great  Britain  was 
this,  that  by  the  increased  growth  of  meat  our  first  step  must 
be  taken  toward  an  increased  production  of  grain ;  or,  to  quote 
the  proverbial  English  form  in  which  this  lesson  is  compressed 
into  four  words — "  ^o  cattle,  no  dung ;  no  dung,  no  corn."  In 
fact,  whether  money  is  apparently  made  or  lost  by  feeding  in 
England  the  farmers  there  appeared  to  coincide  in  the  opinion 
that  without  it  no  money  could  be.  made  out  of  anything  else. 
A  second  most  important  iesson  is,  the  proper  and  complete 
drainage  of  the  soil,  with  reference  to  which  an  account  was 
given  of  the  draining  and  irrigating  operations  at  Teddesley  in 
Staffordshire,  the  seat  of  Lord  Hatherton.  A  third  lesson  for 
ns  to  learn  consists  in  paying  more  attention  to  thorough  til 
lage,  including  the  complete  clearness  of  the  soil  from  weeds  ; 
and  a  fourth,  the  judicious  employment  under  certain  circum 
stances  of  artificial  fertilizers  and  purchased  food — including 
under  these  two  heads  those  crops  grown  expressly  for  their 
improving  effect  upon  the  land,  or  for  use  in  feeding  animals, 
and  thus  indirectly  in  promoting  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Un 
der  the  head  of  thorough  tillage,  the  implements  of  Great 
Britain  demand  our  particular  notice.  Descriptions  were  given 
of  Fowler's  and  of  Smith's  systems  of  steam  cultivation.  Mr. 
Bright,  Lord  Hatherton's  very  intelligent  and  successful  man 
ager,  was  employing  the  latter,  and  had  said  to  the  speaker, 
that  he  would  not  be  without  it  if  he  were  only  a  tenant  farmer 
witli  300  acres  to  cultivate.  The  prices  of  these  and  other 
implements  were  given,  and  drills,  rollers,  and  portable  engines 
were  particularly  referred  to.  That  island,  including  England 
and  Scotland,  had  just  been  compared  by  Mr.  Morton  to  one 
immense  farm,  the  culture  of  which  was  originally  entirely 
done  by  hand  ;  tillage  of  the  ground,  carriage  of  manures,  sow 
ing  the  seed,  and  three-fourths  the  hoeing  of  the  crops  were 
now  done  by  horse-power,  threshing  of  grain  and  cutting  of 
straw  by  steam,  while  reaping,  also,  is  now  rapidly  coming 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  103 

under  the  domain  of  the  horse  and  plowing  under  that  of 
steam. 

Upon  the  subject  of  manures,  Dr.  Voelcker  was  quoted  as 
supporting  by  science  the  lesson  of  practice,  that  "  farm-yard 
manure  is  a  perfect  and  universal  manure,"  and  that  no  one  can 
base  a  system  of  improved  cultivation  solely  upon  the  purchase 
of  artificials.  The  fifth  and  last  lesson  of  English  agriculture 
at  present  noticed  was  the  importance  of  more  earnest  and 
better  organized  effort  in  obtaining  well-conducted  experiments 
in  carrying  on  scientific  investigations,  and  in  deciding  that 
most  difficult  of  questions,  how  and  in  what  the  education  of 
farmer's  sons  is  to  be  advantageously  modified  and  advanced. 
Prominent  among  the  agents  of  progress  in  English  agricul 
ture  had  been  the  Agricultural  Societies  ;  and  in  referring  to 
the  show  last  summer  of  the  Royal  Society  of  England,  three 
points  were  alluded  to  as  particularly  striking  :  1st,  the  extraor 
dinary  turn-out  of  implements,  comprising  4,700  entries  for 
some  235  exhibitors ;  2d,  the  uniformity  of  excellence  among 
the  animals,  as  more  remarkable  than  the  number  that  were 
exhibited  on  the  one  hand,  or  any  especial  instances  of  wonder 
ful  merit  on  the  other ;  and  3d,  the  character  of  the  attendance, 
the  amount  paid  for  admission,  and  the  fact  that  so  large  num 
bers  were  ready  to  pay  it.  The  exertions  put  forth  by  the  dis 
tinct  societies  were  also  noticed,  and  details  given  of  the  differ 
ent  exhibitions  held  by  that  of  East  Lothian  in  the  course  of 
the  year,  including  the  prizes  respectively  offered  according  to 
the  season. 

In  conclusion,  he  could  only  be  sensible  how  very  small  the 
beginning  was  that  had  been  made— however  long  his  notes 
might  have  appeared  to  his  audience — upon  the  grand  stores 
of  agricultural  information  looked  up  in  the  practice  of  English 
farmers.  He  was  inclined  to  consider  it  well  worth  some  self- 
denial  to  the  young  American  farmer  to  visit  Great  Britain  be 
fore  "  settling  down"  for  life — if  his  visit  could  be  made  in  the 
right  spirit,  and  judiciously  arranged.  In  returning,  he  thought 


104  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

that  the  observant  traveller  could  but  bring  back  a  better 
appreciation  of  the  advantages  possessed  in  his  own  land,  and, 
however  far  behind  our  English  brethren  we  must  now  be 
compelled  in  due  candor  to  rank  ourselves,  if  we  were  only 
certain  that  we  were  in  the  right  path,  perhaps  we  might  still 
hope  to  overtake  and  outstrip  them.  He  was  inclined  to  be 
lieve — although  there  might  be  no  statistics  in  support  of  such 
a  statement — that  a  thorough  English  farmer,  knowing  our 
climate,  and  understanding  all  the  circumstances  of  farming 
here  as  well  as  he  does  at  home,  could  make  agriculture  here  a 
still  more  profitable  pursuit  than  he  made  it  there, — of  course 
supposing  that  he  employed  the  same  capital,  and  used  equal, 
but  no  greater  personal  exertions. 

To-day  Prof.  BREWER  lectured  on  Hops,  which  he  said  was 
a  crop  of  growing  importance.  In  1840  we  raised  1,238,000 
pounds;  in  1850,4,497,000.  He  traced  the  history  of  the  plant, 
and  showed  that  its  general  use  can  be  dated  only  three  hun 
dred  years  back.  England  uses  forty  million  pounds,  paying 
to  the  government  a  duty  of  over  a  million  dollars.  If  only 
the  hop  flowers  are  taken  from  the  farm,  the  crop  is  not  of  so 
exhaustive  a  nature  as  tobacco ;  but  still  it  is  very  much  so, 
after  all.  From  a  ton  of  hops  we  may  get  170  pounds  of  ash, 
of  which  potash,  lime,  and  ammonia  form  principal  ingredients. 
Liberal  applications  of  manure  are  needed,  and  they  do  not 
affect  the  quality  of  the  product,  as  is  the  case  with  tobacco. 
Beside  farm-yard  dung,  wool,  hair,  bones,  plaster,  lime,  and 
ashes,  are  all  useful  fertilizers.  In  England,  the  Kent  and 
Sussex  hop-growers  calculate  upon  spending  about  fifty  dollars 
per  acre  for  special  manures,  in  addition  to  what  of  the  ordi 
nary  kind  they  make  on  the  farm.  With  such  care,  they  have 
hop  plantations  three  hundred  years  old.  The  ground  must 
be  trenched  and  worked  deeply.  About  1,200  hills  is  the 
proper  number  per  acre,  and  for  each  two  hundred  hills  there 
should  be  one  hill  of  male  plants.  It  is  better  to  plant  in  tri- 


... 

YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  105 

angular  form  rather  than  square.  That  is  to  say,  the  hills  of 
adjoining  rows  should  alternate,  and  not  be  set  opposite  each 
other.  When  picked,  the  hops  should  be  at  once  dried,  and 
this  is  better  done  by  passing  a  current  of  hot  air  over  them 
than  in  placing  them  in  a  room  where  they  get  only  the  radi 
ated  heat  from  a  stove.  Liebig  recommends  exposing  hops  to 
the  fumes  of  sulphur,  as  thus  the  lupuline,  or  active  principle, 
may  be  preserved  from  one  season  to  another.  The  practice 
is  opposed  by  some,  but  adopted  by  many  of  the  best  Munich 
brewers.  The  hop  crop  varies  from  year  to  year  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  price  is  very  fluctuating,  and  even  in  a  single 
season  a  month  may  make  a  difference  of  one  hundred  per 
cent.  In  conclusion,  the  lecturer  detailed  the  casualties  to 
which  the  hop  is  subject,  such  as  insects,  weather,  <fcc.,  and  gave 
practical  directions  for  its  cultivation. 

Judge  FRENCH  gave  his  third  lecture  on  Draining,  taking  up 
this  time  the  subjects  of  the  Arrangement  and  the  Cost  of 
Drains.  He  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  system,  and  of  accurate 
plans.  He  described  and  illustrated  on  the  black-board  the 
methods  of  laying  out  drains  with  reference  to  the  shape  of  the 
field,  preferring  a  direction  up  and  down  to  a  direction  across, 
or  diagonally.  He  spoke  also  of  the  importance  of  securing 
outlets  against  frogs  and  moles  by  means  of  gratings,  and  of 
making  the  outlets  few  and  permanent.  Backwater  usually 
does  no  harm  in  drains,  because  it  occurs  only  when  the  earth, 
as  well  as  the  streams,  are  full,  and  so  there  is  a  strong  current 
through  the  pipes  which  will  prevent  any  obstruction,  as  water 
cannot  back  up  into  pipes  already  full.  The  cost  of  this  in  this 
country  is  twice  as  great  as  it  should  be ;  two-inch  tiles  are 
sold  at  ten  dollars  or  more  a  thousand,  which  is  twice  the  cost 
of  bricks.  In  England  tiles  cost  and  are  sold  at  less  than  the 
price  of  bricks,  and  will  be  sold  at  five  dollars  per  thousand 
here  as  soon  as  tile-making  is  understood,  and  there  is  a  fair 
competition. 
5* 


106  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

The  items  of  the  cost  of  drainage  are,  1st.  Engineering. 
Employ  a  competent  engineer  to  get  the  levels,  and  locate  the 
drains  and  make  a  plan,  so  that  the  drains  may  be  readily  found. 
2d.  Excavation,  which  is  less  for  this  than  any  other  drains. 
3d.  The  cost  of  tiles  and  freight.  At  thirty-three  feet  apart, 
1,320  pipe  will  lay  an  acre,  reckoning  a  foot  to  each  pipe. 
4th.  Collars,  if  used.  5th.  Outlets,  a  small  but  necessary  item. 
6th.  Laying  the  pipes,  a  small  cost,  as  a  man  can  easily  lay  one 
hundred  and  sixty  rods  in  ten  hours. 

The  total  cost  of  draining  four  feet  deep,  with  tiles  at  ten 
dollars  per  thousand,  was  estimated  at  fifty  cents  a  rod.  If  the 
excavation  is  but  three  feet  deep,  it  will  reduce  the  cost  to 
thirty-three  and  a  third  cents,  as  it  costs  twice  as  much  to  exca 
vate  a  ditch  four  feet  as  three  feet. 

The  comparative  cost  of  stone  and  tile  drains  was  given; 
the  cost  of  tile  drains  as  above  that  of  stone  drains  at  more 
than  twice  as  much,  the  excavation  being  twenty-one  inches 
wide,  and  two  loads  of  stones  at  twenty -five  cents  each,  making 
the  cost  of  these  two  items  at  one  dollar  a  rod.  Then  add 
twenty-five  cents  per  rod  for  laying  the  stones,  and  we  have 
one  dollar  twenty-five  cents  per  rod  for  stone  drains,  against 
fifty  cents  for  tiles.  Judge  F.  concluded  with  an  exhortation 
to  farmers  to  drain  with  stones  if  tiles  cannot  be  procured  ;  but 
not  to  be  satisfied  with  their  operations  until  they  have  tried 
tiles  at  four  feet  depth. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  107 

FOURTEENTH  DAY.— FEB.  16,  1860. 

Two  new  lecturers  were  introduced  to  us  to-day,  viz.,  Mr. 
JOHN  STANTON  GOULD,  of  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  and  Mr.  JOSEPH 
HARRIS,  of  the  Genessee  Farmer.  Mr.  Gould's  name  was 
made  familiar  to  the  farming  public  at  the  time  when  he  was 
chairman  of  the  famous  national  reaper  trial  of  the  United 
States  Agricultural  Society.  His  lecture  was  not  only  replete 
with  interesting  facts  and  practical  suggestions,  but  adorned 
with  those  graces  of  scholarship  he  knows  so  well  how  to 
employ. 

After  an  allusion  to  the^  a3sthetic  character  of  the  grasses, 
their  economical  relations  were  adverted  to.  Providence  has 
attested  their  importance  by  the  provision  it  has  made  for 
their  diffusion  and  preservation.  While  other  plants,  such  as 
the  fig,  orange,  and  grape,  can  only  be  successfully  cultivated 
within  narrow  belts  of  latitude,  the  grasses  extend  over  the 
whole  globe.  Very  curious  and  various  provisions  are  made 
for  the  diffusion  of  the  seeds ;  many  of  them  are  furnished 
with  creeping  roots.  They  are  not,  like  other  plants,  injured 
by  the  laceration  of  their  herbage.  One-sixth  of  all  the  plants 
on  the  globe  belong  to  this  family — 230  genera,  including  3,000 
species,  are  already  known,  and  new  species  are  constantly 
presenting  themselves.  Six-tenths  of  the  cultivated  area  of 
New  York  is  devoted  to  the  growth  of  grass,  and  the  annual 
value  of  the  crop  is  $60,000,000.  In  the  six  New  England 
States  its  annual  value  is  $6,000,000.  In  the  United  States, 
$300,000,000.  If  we  succeed  in  making  two  blades  of  grass 
grow  where  but  one  grew '  before,  we  increase  our  annual  in 
come  $300,000,000. 

It  was  argued  that  we  might  easily  double  our  production 
of  grass,  if  we  would  set  vigorously  at  work  to  accomplish  it. 
The  average  production  of  New  York  is  96  tons  of  hay  to  the 
100  acres ;  but  th  j  average  production  of  King's  county  is 
160  tons  to  the  1 00  acres.  This  result  is  wholly  due  to  the 


108  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

skill  of  the  farmers,  as  its  natural  soil  is  far  below  the  average 
of  the  State  in  richness.  If  the  same  skill  were  exerted  in 
other  counties,  the  same  result  will  follow.  Another  cause  of 
the  diminution  of  grass  is  the  prevalence  of  weeds ;  at  present 
nearly  one-third  of  the  plants  in  our  meadows  are  weeds. 

Much  ignorance  exists  among  farmers ;  very  few  know  the 
names  of  the  grasses  growing  on  their  farms,  nor  can  they 
distinguish  one  from  another.  They  know  little  or  nothing  of 
the  comparative  nutritive  values  of  the  different  species,  nor  of 
the  soils  best  adapted  to  them  ;  nor  of  the  special  purposes  'to 
which  they  are  applicable.  It  was  '  alleged  that  chemistry 
can  never,  by  itself,  furnish  a  safe  and  reliable  guide  to  the 
nutritive  values  of  the  grasses,  because  there  were  frequent 
obstacles  to  the  assimilation  by  the  animal  of  the  nourishment 
contained  in  the  grasses;  thus,  Phragmites  communis  (com 
mon  reed  grass)  had  a  coating  of  silica  so  thick  that  it 
would  cut  the  stomachs  of  animals ;  other  species  had  sharp 
spines,  which  deterred  animals  from  eating  it ;  others  combined 
unwholesome  elements  in  their  nutriment; — hence,  whatever 
nourishment  might  be  contained  in  these  was  quite  useless  to 
the  farmer. 

Much  of  observation  and  experiment  is  necessary  before  we 
pretend  to  understand  the  grasses.  The  making  of  artificial 
meadows  is  an  art  yet  in  its  infancy.  We  never  hear  of  them 
in  England  prior  to  A.  D.  1681,  nor  in  this  country  until  about 
A.  D.  1720.  The  attention  of  observers  and  experimentalists 
should  be  directed  to  the  following  points  : 

I.  The  special  use  of  each  of  the  3,000  species  of  grass. 

II.  The  absolute   and   comparative   values  of  each   species 
should  be  ascertained  by  chemical  analysis  and  practical  tests. 

III.  The  adaptation  of  each  species  to  different  soils,  climate, 
and  circumstances. 

IV.  The  period  of  its  growth  when  it  contains  the  greatest 
amount  of  those   properties  on  which  its  value  chiefly  de 
pends. 


YALE   AGRICULTUEAL   LECTURES.  109 

V.  The  kind  of  culture  and  the  manures  best  adapted  to 
stimulate  its  growth  and  to  increase  its  valuable  properties. 

VI.  The  time  of  flowering  of  each  species,  and  the  time  when 
it  ripens  its  seed. 

VII.  The  species  of  insects  which  prey  upon  it,  and  the  best 
modes  of  preventing  their  ravages. 

VIII.  The  best  and  most  economical  means  of  curing  and 
preserving  each  species  of  grass. 

To  enable  farmers  to  make  these  observations,  they  were  ad 
vised  to  study  botany  ; — and  the  remainder  of  the  lecture  was 
occupied  in  describing  the  parts  of  the  grass  which  are  mainly 
resorted  to  in  order  to  establish  the  distinctions  of  species. 
Some  of  these  descriptions  are  peculiarly  valuable,  because  not 
given  in  any  work  on  botany  which  I  can  now  recall.  The 
leaves  consist  of  the  following  parts: — (a)  The  Sheath^  which 
represents  the  petiole  or  leaf-stalk  of  other  plants ;  (b)  the  Li- 
gule,  or  tongue;  (c)  the  Lamina,  blade  or  flat  part  of  the 
leaf,  that  which  in  popular  language  is  called  the  leaf,  (a) 
The  sheath  is  the  foot-stalk  of  the  leaf.  The  whole  length  of 
it,  which  is  variable,  is  folded  around  the  stalk  (culm),  from 
which  it  can  be  loosened  by  unwinding,  without  fracture, — a 
circumstance  which  serves  to  distinguish  the  grasses  from  the 
sedges,  (b)  The  ligule,  or  tongue.  At  the  point  where  the 
sheath  ends  and  the  blade  begins,  occurs  a  thin  and  usually 
white  semi-transparent  membrane,  termed  the  ligule.  As  the 
botanical  works  barely  describe  this,  and  still  perplex  us  with 
constant  allusions  to  this  and  other  parts  of  which  we  have 
about  as  little  knowledge  as  of  the  Choctaw  alphabet,  it  is  well 
to  remark  that  this  ligule  is  said  to  be  entire  when  it  has  no 
segments;  bifid  when  it  is  divided  at  the  apex  into  two  parts; 
lacerated  when  it  appears  as  if  torn  on  the  margin;  ciliated 
when  the  margin  is  set  with  short,  projecting  hairs ;  truncated 
when  the  upper  part  terminates  in  a  transverse  line ;  acute  when 
it  has  a  short,  sharp  point ;  and  accuminated  when  it  has  a  long, 
projecting  point.  It  has  great  value  in  enabling  us  frequently 


110  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

to  distinguish  between  two  grasses  otherwise  very  similar  in 
appearance,  but  of  widely  different  nutritive  value.  Speaking 
of  the  area  under  the  grasses  in  European  countries,  Mr.  Gould 
made  a  forcible  illustration  of  his  subject  by  comparing  the  ag 
gregate  products  in  forage  and  cereal  crops  in  France  and 
England.  France  has  fifty-three  per  cent,  of  her  cultivated 
area  under  cereals,  while  England  has  but  twenty-five  per  cent. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  England  produces  five  and  one-ninth 
bushels  of  grain  for  every  individual  of  her  population  annually, 
while  France  produces  only  five  and  a  half  bushels.  Thus, 
with  less  than  half  of  the  proportionate  area  under  cultivation, 
England  produces  within  seven-eighteenths  of  a  bushel  per  head 
of  what  France  does.  This  she  accomplishes  solely  by  means 
of  the  manure  furnished  by  her  grass  lands.  Every  acre  of 
English  grain-land  receives  the  manure  from  three  acres  of 
grass-land,  while  in  France  the  manure  for  each  acre  of  grass 
land  is  spread  over  two  and  a  half  acres  of  grain-land !  This 
tells  the  whole  story ;  shall  we  profit  by  the  lesson  ? 

Judge  FRENCH,  of  New  Hampshire,  gave  his  last  lecture  on 
drainage  this  afternoon,  much  to  the  regret  of  the  audience,  if 
I  may  judge  by  the  triple  rounds  of  applause  by  which  he  was 
honored  on  taking  his  leave  of  us  with  a  kindly  expression  of 
good-will.  He  commenced  by  reading  an  extract  from  a  letter 
of  Governor  Hammond,  of  South  Carolina,  to  Levi  Bartlett, 
recently  received.  The  testimony  of  the  distinguished  Senator 
is  so  directly  in  support  of  thorough  drainage  that  I  must  give 
it  to  you.  He  says : — 

"  Of  my  agricultural  affairs,  I  can  only  say  a  few  words. 
The  last  years  have  been,  in  my  immediate  neighborhood, 
average  crop  years,  the  last  more  than  average.  Yet  with  me, 
owing  to  my  absence,  as  far  as  my  corn  was  concerned  they 
were  not  near  as  productive  as  1857.  My  corn  is  mainly  grown 
on  the  1,500  acres  of  inland  swamp  I  have  reclaimed,  which 
averaged  me,  in  1857,  about  fifty  bushels  per  acre,  in  1858, 
about  thirty  bushels,  and  in  1859  about  twenty.  This  looked 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES.  Ill 

like  exhaustion ;  but  I  know  it  was  not  so.  I  was  satisfied,  from 
former  experience,  that  in  my  absence  the  ditches  had  not  been 
thoroughly  cleared  and  kept  clean.  Before  I  left  home,  in 
December,  I  had  the  matter  fully  tested,  and  found  that  my 
six-feet  ditches  were  three  to  four  feet  deep,  and  all  others  in 
proportion.  Such  was  the  carelessness  and  malfeasance  of 
those  I  left  in  charge.  I  inaugurated  new  officers,  and  if  next 
year  is  as  favorable  as  the  last,  will  expect  to  average  seventy 
bushels  per  acre  on  these  lands." 

This  very  1,500-acre  corn-field  I  went  through  in  1857,  and 
can  fully  corroborate  what  the  Governor  says  about  his  large 
yield,  and  the  depth  of  his  drains.  In  fact,  his  great  outside 
drains  looked  more  like  canals  than  anything  else,  and  were,  at 
the  time  of  my  visit,  abundantly  filled  with  water.  Two  acres, 
if  I  recollect  aright,  of  this  corn-field  measured  ninety-eight 
bushels  each,  and  the  plantation  crop  amounted,  in  the  aggre 
gate,  to  about  56,000  bushels.  This  was  raised  on  a  swamp, 
just  like  many  thousand  other  acres  in  South  Carolina,  but 
rendered  thus  fertile  by  open  ditching.  Governor  Hammond's 
experience  goes  to  corroborate  what  yesterday  Judge  French 
said  against  open  ditches.  In  one  season  only,  because  of  neg 
lect  to  clean  them  out,  the  ditches  filled  up,  so  that  on  the 
1,500  acres  the  crop  was  shortened  30,000  bushels,  and  in  one 
year  more  a  further  loss  of  15,000  bushels  was  experienced. 
Let  things  go  on  at  this  ratio,  and  in  1863  Mr.  Hammond 
might  as  well  save  his  seed,  for  he  would  get  no  crop  at  all. 

Judge  French  adverted  to  the  fact  that  plant  roots  cannot 
descend  into  soil  filled  with  stagnant  water,  for  it  has  the  same 
deleterious  effect  upon  them  as  does  holy  water  upon  a  certain 
unmentionable  gentleman  of  a  sable  hue.  All  plants  need 
loosely-packed  soil,  and  some  of  them  a  great  depth  of  it.  The 
downward  travel  of  roots  Ire  proved  by  the  observations  of 
Mechi,  Cobbett,  Downing,  and  others.  Jethro  Tull's  ancient 
doctrine,  that  by  extreme  comminution  of  the  soil  we  will  fur 
nish  abundant  food  to  plants  without  needing  to  care  much  for 


112  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

manures,  although  obsolete  for  many  years,  is  of  late  com 
ing  into  vogue  again ;  and  we  certainly  cannot  work  up  our 
heavy  soils  as  we  should,  unless  we  draw  oft"  at  the  bottom  the 
excess  water,  which  renders  them  sticky  and  tenacious.  Evap 
orating  it  at  the  top  will  certainly  not  avail,  for  from  a  wet 
soil  the  more  we  have  evaporated,  the  colder  we  get  it,  and 
hence  the  less  fertile ;  for  plants  like  warmth  and  plenty  of  air, 
as  well  as  moisture.  The  several  advantages  which  follow 
thorough  drainage  were  severally  adduced,  and  very  clearly 
and  agreeably  explained  by  the  Judge,  who  has  a  pleasant  con 
versational  way  with  him  that  interests  one  vastly.  In  Eng 
land  it  has  been  found  that  draining  makes  twenty-five  per 
cent,  difference  in  the  amount  of  work  which  animals  can  per 
form  on  a  farm  in  a  given  time.  That  is  to  say,  three  horses 
will  do  as  much  plowing  on*  a  drained  farm,  as  can  four  on  one 
undrained,  for  their  strength  is  correspondingly  less  taxed. 

The  lecture  by  Mr.  JOSEPH  HARRIS,  of  the  Genessee  Farmer, 
was  not  only  replete  with  practical  hints  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  cereals,  but  contained,  also,  a  full  exposition  of  the  chemi 
cal  laws  to  which  the  farmer  must  pay  attention  if  he  would 
secure  maximum  crops.  The  original  newspaper  report  of  the 
lecture  was  necessarily  very  meagre,  and  I  substitute,  in  its 
place,  some  extracts  taken  from  the  MS.  itself,  which  has  been 
kindly  placed  at  my  disposal  for  this  purpose  by  Professor 
Porter. 

The  great  aim  of  the  wheat-grower  in  nearly  all  sections  is 
to  get  wheat  early.  In  western  New  York,  if  we  could  get 
wheat  into  bloom  ten  days  earlier,  we  could  escape  that  ter 
rible  insect-pest,  the  midge.  It  is  this  insect,  and  not,  as  has 
been  often  stated,  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil  of  phosphates,  that 
has  caused  the  deterioration  of  our  wheat  product.  The  injury 
from  rust,  or  mildew,  another  great  drawback  to  profitable 
wheat  culture,  would  also  be  greatly  mitigated  by  earlier 
maturity.  Now,  there  is  no  one  thing  that  will  do  so  much  to 
accomplish  this  as  underdraining.  Stagnant  water  is  not  only 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  113 

injurious  to  the  growth  of  wheat,  but  it  renders  the  soil  cold 
and  retards  the  ripening  of  the  grain.  It  has  been  found,  by 
actual  experiment,  that  a  soil  which  needs  draining  is  from  10° 
to  15°  colder  than  the  same  soil  after  it  has  been  underdrained. 
In  our  late,  cold  springs  this  would  be  an  immense  advantage. 
Having  the  soil  underdrained,  the  next  thing  is  to  prepare  and 
enrich  it  for  the  crop. 

The  introduction  of  turnip  culture  and  drill  husbandry  into 
England  banished  summer-fallows  from  all  but  the  heaviest 
clay  soils.  There  was  good  reason  for  this :  The  turnips  re 
quired  and  received  extra  cultivation.  As  soon  as  the  wheat 
crop  is  harvested,  the  land  is  scarified  and  plowed  in  the 
autumn,  and  two  or  three  times  in  the  spring,  and  rolled,  and 
harrowed,  and  scarified  till  it  is  as  free  from  weeds  and  as  mel 
low  as  an  ash-heap  ;  then  the  turnips  are  sown  in  drills  from 
2  feet  to  2|  feet  apart.  The  plants  are  singled  out  by  hand- 
hoes  in  the  rows,  from  12  to  15  inches  apart,  and  the  horse- 
hoe  is  kept  constantly  going  between  the  rows,  and  the  hand- 
hoe  whenever  necessary.  In  this  way  the  land  is  as  effectually 
cleared  and  mellowed  as  if  it  had  been  summer-followed. 
Hence  turnips  have  been  appropriately  termed  a  "  fallow  crop." 
But  we  have  as  yet  no  such  fallow  crop  in  America.  I  am 
aware  that  Indian  corn  is  sometimes  called  a  "  fallow  crop," 
because,  like  turnips,  it  admits  the  use  of  the  horse-hoe  ;  but  it 
is  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  fallow  or  renovating  crop,  because 
it  impoverishes  the  soil  of  the  same  plant  food  as  the  wheat 
crop  requires.  So  much  has  been  said  in  England  against  sum 
mer-fallows,  and  these  opinions  have  been  reiterated  so  often 
by  the  agricultural  press  of  this  country,  for  the  last  30  years, 
that  there  is  a  very  general  opinion  that  summer-fallows  is  un 
necessary.  This  impression,  while  it  may  have  done  some 
good,  has  also  done  considerable  harm.  Farmers  have  neg 
lected  their  summer  fallows.  In  Western  New  York  it  has 
not  been  uncommon  for  some  years  to  prepare  land  for  wheat 
by  simply  turning  under  a  crop  of  clover  when  in  bloom,  say 


114:  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

in  June,  and  then  keeping  the  surface  of  the  land  clean  by  the 
use  of  the  cultivator  and  harrow  till  the  seed  is  sown,  without 
any  more  plowing  in  the  fall.  On  light  soils  this  may  be  a  good 
practice,  but  on  heavy  soils  I  think  a  real  old-fashioned  summer- 
fallow  would  be  better ;  though  I  have  seen  excellent  crops 
produced  on  heavy  land  by  plowing  in  a  crop  of  clover — the 
clover,  besides  enriching  the  soil,  serving  also  to  render  it 
light.  Still,  I  do  not  like  the  practice  of  plowing  in  clover  for 
wheat.  I  believe  in  many  cases  a  good  summer-fallow  would 
be  much  better. 

Passing  food  through  the  body  of  an  animal  does  not  in 
crease  its  ultimate  fertilizing  power  ;  it  adds  nothing  to  it,  but 
the  droppings  of  animals  are  a  more  appropriate  food  for  plants 
— at  least  for  wheat — than  the  food  which  the  animals  con 
sumed.  It  is  contrary  to  the  economy  of  nature  to  use  plants 
which  are  capable  of  sustaining  animal  life  for  the  purpose 
merely  of  furnishing  food  for  other  plants.  For  this  reason, 
while  I  would  earnestly  recommend  the  extensive  cultivation 
of  clover  on  all  wheat  soils — while  I  would  say  to  every  farmer, 
"  Raise  your  own  clover  seed,  and  sow  it  with  an  unsparing 
hand  " — while  I  believe  there  is  no  crop  which  furnishes  so  much 
ammonia  at  so  cheap  a  rate — no  crop  so  well  adapted  to  our  cli 
mate  and  circumstances — no  crop  which  has  done  and  is  now 
doing  so  much  to  increase  the  fertility  of  our  farms,  still  I 
think  it  is  contrary  to  sound  theory  and  good  practice  to  plow 
under  such  a  large  amount  of  matter  capable  of  sustaining 
animal  life,  for  the  simple  purpose  of  furnishing  food  for  the  fol 
lowing  wheat  crop.  Fertilizing  matter  furnished  by  decayed 
clover  is  not  as  appropriate  food  for  wheat  as  the  droppings  of 
animals  living  on  clover.  It  contains  too  much  carbonaceous 
matter — the  very  matter  which  animals  need  to  keep  up  the 
heat  of  their  bodies,  and  to  form  fat ;  and  which,  when  the 
clover  is  fed  to  animals,  is  burnt  out  while  the  nitrogen  re 
mains  in  the  form  of  ammonia — or  in  compounds  which  readily 
decompose  and  form  ammonia.  This  ammonia  is  what  we 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  115 

most  need.  It  not  only  increases  the  crop,  but  up  to  a  certain 
point,  accelerates  early  maturity.  (If  we  get  too  much  am 
monia  and  a  moist,  cloudy  summer,  it  has  an  opposite  effect— 
but  there  is  not  much  danger  of  our  getting  too  much  am 
monia.)  On  the  other  hand,  the  carbonaceous  matter,  forming 
four-fifths  of  the  clover,  is  of  little  fertilizing  value,  and,  cer 
tainly,  on  the  majority  of  soils,  is  not  needed  by  the  wheat 
crop,  while  it  has  a  tendency  to  produce  too  much  straw,  and 
to  retard  the  ripening  processes. 

These  remarks  will  apply,  also,  in  some  degree,  to  poor, 
strawy,  leached,  weathered  manure.  There  is  not  enough 
ammonia  in  a  ton  of  such  stuff  as  many  farmers  call  manure 
to  make  hartshorn  enough  for  a  lady's  smelling-bottle  ! ! ! 
Instead  of  plowing  in  so  much  clover  for  wheat,  then,  let  us 
convert  it  into  wool  and  mutton,  and  if  we  can  give  our  sheep 
peas,  or  beans,  or  oilcake  in  addition,  it  will  tell  wonderfully  on 
the  manure,  and  on  the  crops  to  which  it  is  applied. 

In  preparing  heavy  land  for  wheat,  it  is  still  necessary,  in 
many  cases,  to  resort  to  summer-fallows.  On  the  light  soils 
we  might  take  a  crop  of  beans,  planted  in  rows  and  thoroughly 
horse-hoed,  and  sow  wheat  afterwards.  On  heavier  soils  I 
have  seen  an  excellent  crop  of  wheat  follow  a  crop  of  peas, 
which  had  been  sown  instead  of  fallowing.  The  great  draw 
back  to  the  peas  is,  that  they  are  affected  by  the  bug.  But  if 
fed  out  early  to  hogs,  the  bugs  do  not  injure  them  materially, 
while  they  are  very  fattening  and  make  rich  manure.  You 
can  commence  feeding  them  to  hogs  on  the  land,  while  the  peas 
are  still  green.  In  England  wheat  is  generally  sown  on  a  one 
or  two-year  old  clover  sod,  the  land  being  plowed  immediately 
before  sowing.  As  a  general  rule,  this  practice  does  not  suc 
ceed  here,  because,  for  one  reason,  we  sow  a  month  earlier  than 
they  do  in  England,  and  a  clover  field  plowed  here  the  last  of 
August  is  generally  so  dry  that  the  seed  wheat  does  not  ger 
minate  evenly  ;  and  it  is  found,  too,  that  the  wheat  is  overrun 
with  weeds  and  grass  the  next  season.  I  think,  however,  if 


116  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

our  land  were  cleared  the  way  it  should  be  before  it  is  seeded 
to  clover,  and  eaten  down  by  sheep  during  the  summer, 
wheat  might  be  raised  here  with  one  plowing,  as  in  England, 
especially  if  we  used  a  little  Peruvian  guano  at  the  time  of 
sowing.  In  western  New  York  manure  is  seldom  applied 
directly  to  wheat ;  some  say  it  is  injurious.  But  I  apprehend 
that,  on  most  farms,  the  wheat  would  be  very  grateful  for  a 
little  good,  well-rotted  manure,  either  plowed  in  or  spread  on 
the  surface  just  before  sowing.  Wheat  needs  something  to 
give  it  a  good  start  in  the  fall,  and  a  little  well-rotted  manure, 
not  plowed  in  deep,  would  be  very  acceptable.  A  dressing  of 
Peruvian  guano,  say  150  Ibs.  to  300  Ibs.  to  the  acre,  would 
perhaps  be  better  still.  It  will  pay  if  we  get  $1  50  per  bushel 
for  wheat.  At  $1  per  bushel  the  profits  from  the  use  of  guano 
will  be  very  slight,  and  may  be  on  the  wrong  side  of  the 
ledger. 

Gypsum,  or  sulphate  of  lime,  seldom  does  any  good  on 
wheat  in  western  New  York,  although  it  has  a  very  good  eifect 
on  clover,  and  sometimes  on  peas.  Some  good  farmers  sow  a 
bushel  of  plaster  (gypsum)  on  the  wheat  in  the  spring,  but  it 
is  done,  not  to  benefit  the  wheat,  but  for  its  eifect  on  the  clover 
sown  with  the  wheat. 

In  regard  te  the  time  of  sowing  wheat,  we  have  to  steer 
between  the  Hessian  fly  and  the  midge — the  Scylla  and 
Charybdis  of  the  wheat-grower.  If  we  sow  too  early,  there  is 
increased  danger  from  the  Hessian  fly,  which  deposits  its  eggs 
in  the  young  plants  in  the  fall ;  and  if  we  sow  late,  the  proba 
bility  is  that  the  midge,  which  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  grain 
when  in  bloom,  will  destroy  it.  In  western  New  York,  from 
1st  to  the  10th  of  September  is  now  considered  the  safest 
time.  As  we  go  south,  the  wheat  is  sown  later,  but  ripens 
earlier,  and  I  believe  we  should  find  it  to  our  advantage  to  get 
seed  wheat  from  a  southern  rather  than  a  northern  latitude ; 
but  there  is  some  difference  of  opinion  on  this  point.  It  seems 
probable,  to  say  the  least,  that  the  wheat  would,  for  a  year  or 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  117 

two,  retain  a  tendency  to  ripen  at  the  same  time  it  did  at  the 
south.  The  importance  of  this  question  will  be  seen  when  it 
is  understood  that  if  we  could  get  wheat  in  bloom  10  days 
earlier  it  would  receive  little  injury  from  the  midge,  and  if  it 
could  be  sown  later,  as  at  the  south,  the  Hessian  fly  could  do 
it  no  harm. 

We  have  an  early  wheat — the  Mediterranean— which  gener 
ally  escapes  the  midge,  but  it  is  of  comparatively  poor  quality, 
though  it  improves  much  in  this  respect  by  cultivation.  In 
regard  to  the  quantity  of  seed  per  acre,  I  am  in  favor  of  rather 
thick  sowing,  say  two  bushels  and  a  peck  per  acre  if  sown 
broadcast,  or  two  bushels  if  sown  with  the  drill.  If  the  land 
is  in  fine  tilth  and  high  condition,  less  seed  will  be  required.  I 
know  the  quantity  I  have  recommended  is  unusually  large  for 
this  country  ;  I  know  that  a  much  less  quantity  is  amply  suffi 
cient  to  seed  an  acre  if  the  seed  all  germinates  and  the  plants 
are  not  winter-killed;  but  we  must  sow  enough  to  guard 
against  these  and  other  casualties,  and  I  think  I  am  "warranted 
in  saying,  that  thick  seeding  has  a  tendency  to  produce  early 
wheat.  This  at  least  is  certain  :  where  wheat  is  thin  from  hav 
ing  been  partially  killed  by  snow-drifts  or  by  what  is  known 
as  "  winter  kill,"  the  crop  is  always  late,  and  generally  suffers 
from  midge  and  mildew.  It  is  true  that  this  late  ripening  may 
be  owing  to  the  same  causes  which  produced  the  destruction 
of  the  plants.  I  know  of  no  decisive  experiment  bearing  on 
the  point,  but  it  is  the  opinion  of  several  intelligent  wheat- 
growers  in  western  New  York  that  thin  seeding  gives  late 
crops.  An  experienced  English  writer  contends  that  there  is 
no  advantage  in  drilling  wheat  unless  it  is  hoed  afterwards  in 
the  spring.  This  may  be  true  of  England,  where  the  soil  at 
the  time  of  seeding  is  always  moist  enough  to  insure  germi 
nation,  but  in  this  country,  where  we  sow  earlier  and  the  soil 
is  dry,  there  is  this  advantage  in  drilling :  the  seed  can  be 
deposited  evenly,  and  at  sufficient  depth  to  insure  germination. 
For  this  idea  I  am  indebted  to  John  Johnston ;  it  cost  me 


118  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

nothing,  and  I  give  it  freely ;  but  I  believe  he  obtained  it  at  a 
cost  of  five  or  six  hundred  bushels  of  wheat  in  one  year. 

On  the  cultivation  of  Indian  corn  my  remarks  shall  be  very 
brief.  Corn  will  grow  on  all  soils,  from  the  lightest  sand  to 
the  heaviest  clay,  among  granite  rocks  and  on  the  richest 
bottoms.  It  does  not  need  so  compact  and  calcareous  a  soil 
as  wheat.  It  delights  in  a  loose,  friable,  warm,  porous,  deep 
soil,  abounding  in  organic  matter.  It  does  well  on  all  good 
wheat  soils,  yet  it  often  does  better  on  soils  too  light  and 
mucky  for  wheat.  It  is  a  gross  feeder.  We  can  easily  make 
land  too  rich  for  wheat,  but  I  have  never  yet  seen  any  too 
rich  for  the  production  of  Indian  corn.  Like  all  spring  crops, 
corn  requires  an  active  soil.  Its  growth  is  very  rapid.  The 
atmosphere  should  have  free  access;  fine  tilth  is  essential ;  the 
soil  should  be  made  as  fine  as  possible  before  planting,  and 
after  the  plants  are  up  the  hoe  and  cultivator  cannot  be  used 
too  much  during  the  first  month.  Throughout  the  vast  corn- 
growing  region  of  the  west,  if  we  can  remove  stagnant  water, 
prepare  the  land  properly,  plant  in  good  season,  and  use  the 
horse-hoe  freely,  the  soil  is,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  rich  enough 
to  produce  fair  and  remunerative  crops.  I  have  been  in  a  two 
hundred  acre  field  in  Ohio,  that  has  produced  annually  a  good 
crop  of  corn  for  over  fifty  years  without  manure  ;  but  it  was 
thoroughly  cultivated.  Not  a  weed  or  blade  of  grass  was  to 
be  seen.  In  passing  over  the  magnificent  prairies  in  Illinois, 
I  was  much  struck  by  the  decided  difference  of  the  corn  crops. 
Wherever  the  soil  was  dry,  and  proper  care  had  been  exercised 
in  preparing  the  land,  and  keeping  it  well  cultivated,  the  crops 
presented  a  most  luxuriant  appearance  ;  but  where  careless 
preparation,  and  negligent,  slovenly  culture  were  rendered 
visible  to  the  observant  eye  by  the  growth  of  weeds,  the  crop 
was  as  yellow  and  sickly  as  though  it  had  got  the  ague.  It 
was  literally  starved  in  the  midst  of  plenty.  Whether  grown  at 
the  east  or  the  west,  on  rich  land  or  poor  land,  corn  must  have 
good  culture,  and  I  would  here  say  that  taking  everything  into 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  119 

consideration,  as  much  energy  and  skill  are  necessary  to  pro 
duce  profitable  crops  of  corn  at  the  west,  as  at  the  east.  At 
all  events,  the  difference  is  not  as  great  as  is  generally  suppos 
ed.  Levi  Bartlett  states,  that  of  thirty-five  crops  of  Indian 
corn  offered  for  premiums  in  Massachusetts,  the  average  profit 
over  all  expense  exceeded  $51  per  acre. 

Corn  will  succeed  on  land  that  is  too  low  and  mucky  for  wheat, 
but  though  this  is  true,  it  is  vain  to  hope  for  good  crops  if  the 
land  is  surcharged  with  stagnant  water.  All  the  sunshine  of  our 
hottest  summers  cannot  make  such  land  warm.  The  heat  is 
expended  in  evaporating  the  water  instead  of  warming  the 
soil.  In  passing  along  the  various  railroads  of  the  country,  I 
have  been  often  saddened  at  the  sight  of  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  of  acres  planted  to  corn,  which  by  a  little  under- 
draining  would  have  produced  magnificent  crops  of  this  king 
of  cereals,  but  which  presented  a  miserable  spectacle  of  yellow, 
sickly,  stunted,  half-starved  plants,  struggling  for  very  life. 
Until  the  land  is  freed  from  stagnant  water,  all  our  efforts  to 
produce  good  crops  of  corn  will  prove  ineffectual.  When  this 
is  accomplished,  good  cultivation  will  be  most  abundantly  re 
warded. 

I  have  made  some  experiments  with  manures  for  Indian  corn, 
on  a  field  which  had  been  under  a  scourging  system  of  cropping 
with  the  cereals,  and  had  never  been  manured  for  twenty 
years. 

Unleached  wood  ashes  had  no  effect  on  the  corn,  in  this 
field ;  and  300  pounds  of  super-phosphate  of  lime  per  acre, 
though  it  gave  the  plants  an  early  start,  produced  at  harvest 
no  larger  a  crop  than  100  pounds  of  gypsum.  But  whenever 
ammonia  was  used,  the  crop  was  materially  increased — more 
than  doubled  in  one  instance.  The  only  deduction  I  would 
draw  from  this  is,  that  the  majority  of  our  soils,  relatively  to 
ammonia,  are  not  deficient  in  potash,  soda,  and  phosphoric  acid, 
so  far  as  the  growth  of  corn  is  concerned. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  there  are  soils  where  ashes  and 


120  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

phosphates  may  be  needed  for  corn ;  but  where  such  is  the  case 
it  is  certain  that  they  are  much  more  needed  for  the  growth  of 
clover  and  other  leguminous  crops,  and  turnips,  and  that  we 
cannot  obtain  from  natural  sources  sufficient  ammonia  for  the 
corn  without  growing  these  crops,  or  others  which,  like  them, 
by  their  growth  and  consumption  on  the  farm,  furnish  an  in 
creased  quantity  of  ammonia  for  the  use  of  the  cereals. 


FIFTEENTH  DAY.— FEB.  17,  1860. 

Mr.  JOHN  STANTON  GOULD'S  lecture  to-day  was  devoted  to  a 
classification  and  description  of  the  grasses,  with  practical  hints 
at  the  best  varieties  for  farm  use.  After  making  some  state 
ments  respecting  the  classification  of  the  grasses,  Mr.  Gould 
proceeded  to  speak  of  the  several  species,  describing  their  bo 
tanical  and  chemical  characters,  and  the  soils  and  localities  to 
which  they  were  severally  adapted.  With  the  grasses  before 
him,  he  pointed  out  the  marks  by  which  timothy  was  identified 
and  distinguished  from  others  which  resembled  it.  The  largest 
stalk  that  he  had  ever  seen  was  six  feet  six  inches  long,  with  a 
spike  measuring  eleven  inches.  The  heaviest  crop  that  he  had 
ever  heard  of  was  on  the  form  of  John  Fisher,  Carroll  county, 
Md.,  who  cut  from  an  acre  five  tons,  1,622  pounds  of  dry  hay. 
The  heaviest  crop  of  pure  timothy  that  he  had  himself  seen  was 
on  the  farm  of  the  Hon.  Geo.  Geddes,  of  Syracuse,  which  gave 
three  tons  to  the  acre.  According  to  the  analysis  of  Mr.  Way, 
timothy  yields  more  dry  hay  from  a  given  amount  of  grass,  and 
more  of  albuminous,  fatty,  and  calorifacient  matters  from  a 
given  amount  of  dry  hay,  than  any  of  the  grasses  'upon  which 
he  experimented.  But  it  must  be  remembered,  that  Mr.  Way 
did  not  analyze  either  Poa  compressa  or  Poa  serotina. 

The  great  drawbacks  to  its  utility  as  a  permanent  meadow- 
grass  are, — the  very  little  after-math  it  produces ;  its  liability 
to  run  out  after  two  or  three  years;  and  the  injury  it  receives 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  121 

from  insects,  with  which  it  is  infected,  and  which  seem  to  be 
on  the  increase.  The  proper  time  for  mowing  timothy  is  just 
when  the  first  dry  spot  appears  above  the  first  joint.  If  mowed 
before,  the  plant  is  injured.  If  left  to  a  later  period,  the  starch 
and  sugar  are  converted  into  indigestible  woody  fibre,  and  the 
nitrogenous  compounds,  on  which  its  value  chiefly  depends,  are 
transferred  from  the  leaves  and  culms  to  the  seed,  which  mostly 
drop  out  before  they  reach  the  margin.  Timothy  is  not  well 
adapted  to  hot  sands,  gravels,  and  chalks,  nor  for  hard,  sterile 
clays ;  but  thrives  on  peaty,  damp  soils,  and  especially  on  most 
calcareous  loams,  where  it  exhibits  its  fullest  perfection. 

Meadow  Foxtails. — There  are  five  varieties  of  the  genus 
(Alopecurus),  viz. :  A.  pratensis,  A.  agrostis,  A.  geniculatus,  and 
A.  aristulatus.  The  A.  pratensis  may  be  distinguished  from  its 
allied  species  by  the  equality  of  length  in  the  glumes  and  palese, 
and  by  a  twisted  awn  twice  the  length  of  the  blossom.  It  rarely 
exceeds  three  feet  in  length,  and  does  not  usually  yield  over 
one  ton  to  the  acre.  It  is  very  watery  in  its  composition ; — 100 
pounds  of  the  green  grass  gives  only  19f  pounds  of  dry  hay, 
while  an  equal  quantity  of  timothy  gives  42f  pounds.  If  one 
ton  of  green  timothy  be  worth  $5,  the  foxtail  will  be  worth 
$2  07,  if  Mr.  Way's  analysis  can  be  relied  on.  It  is  found 
abundantly  in  some  of  our  best  pasture ;  is  one  of  the  earliest 
to  start  in  the  spring,  and  the  first  to  mature  its  seeds ;  its  after 
math  is  exceedingly  abundant,  starting  up  immediately  after 
mowing,  and  if  the  weather  be  showery  will,  in  a  week  or  ten 
days,  give  a  fair  bite  to  the  cattle.  It  is  not  well  adapted  to 
alternate  husbandry  as  it  requires  three  or  four  years  to  bring  a 
meadow  to  full  perfection.  It  is  very  difficult  to  procure  good 
seeds,  as  many  heads  are  entirely  destroyed  by  the  insects.  It 
is  better  adapted  to  pasture  than  to  meadow,  flourishes  most 
luxuriantly  on  rich,  moist,  strong  soil,  the  production  from  a 
clayey  loam  being  three-fourths  greater  than  from  silicious  soil. 

Setaria  glauca — Is  good  for  nothing  in  meadows  and  pas 
tures;  it  should  be  exterminated  as  soon  as  possible,  which 
6 


122  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

may  be  done  by  a  thin  coat  of  horse-manure  applied  in  the 
fall. 

Dactylis  glomerata,  or  orchard-grass,  sometimes  grows  five 
feet  high,  and  has  produced  five  tons,  1,859  Ibs.,  an  acre.  One 
hundred  pounds  of  it  produces  thirty  pounds  of  dry  hay ;  it 
contains  nearly  as  much  of  fat  and  flesh-forming  matters  as 
timothy,  but  contains  much  less  of  heat-forming  matters.  If 
the  latter  is  worth  $5  a  ton,  orchard-grass  will  be  worth  $3  59. 
It  flourishes  well  in  shady  places,  and  receives  its  trivial  name 
from  its  adaptation  to  orchards.  It  affords  a  very  large  amount 
of  after-math, — starts  very  early  in  the  spring,  and  continues  to 
send  out  leaves  until  late  in  the  autumn.  It  shoots  up  very 
rapidly  after  mowing.  Its  disposition  to  grow  in  tussocks  may 
be  prevented  by  harrowing  and  rolling  in  the  spring.  It  flour 
ishes  well  on  almost  all  soils  and  climates,  but  a  sandy  loam 
seems  best  adapted  to  bring  out  all  its  good  qualities.  On 
whatever  soil  it  may  be  grown,  the  cattle  will  eat  it  in  prefer 
ence  to  any  other,  and  will  adhere  to  it  as  long  as  any  of  it  is 
left. 

POOL  pratensis,  a  Kentucky  blue-grass,  in  this  section  does 
not  grow  higher  than  2£  feet,  and  cannot  be  relied  upon  to 
yield  more  than  a  ton  and  a  half  to  the  acre.  One  hundred 
pounds  of  the  grass  yields  thirty-two  pounds  of  dry  hay  to  the 
acre,  and  is  worth  $3  20  per  ton  when  timothy  is  worth  $5. 
Butter  made  from  this  grass  will  keep  sweet  longer  than  that 
made  from  any  other  species.  Its  after-math  is  very  luxuriant, 
and  it  stands  the  cold  better  than  any  other,  but  is  liable  to 
burn  up  in  hot,  dry  weather.  Its  favorite  locality  is  a  lime 
stone  soil. 

Poa  compressa, — Wire,  or  blue-grass,  has  never  been  ana 
lyzed,  but  is  believed  to  be  the  most  nutritive  of  our  grasses  ; 
it  is  certainly  the  heaviest,  and  grows  about  twenty  inches  high, 
standing  thijnly  on  the  ground.  It  causes  an  abundant  flow  of 
very  rich  milk,  and  horses  fed  upon  it  alone  will  do  as  much 
work  and  keep  in  as  good  order  as  when  fed  upon  timothy  and 


•1 

YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  123 

oats  combined.  Sheep  fatten  astonishingly  upon  it,  and  all 
grazing  animals  eat  it  with  avidity. 

Agrestis  vulgaris — Red-top,  grows  about  2-j-  feet  long,  and 
yields  about  1-J  tons  to  the  acre.  It  is  not  a  first-rate  grass, 
but  seems  to  be  better  relished  by  working  oxen  than  by  any 
other  stock.  It  grows  in  very  moist  land. 

Agrestes  alba^  or  white-top,  seems  better  adapted  to  sandy 
soils  than  the  preceding,  but  resembles  it  very  nearly  in  its 
botanical  character. 

Mr.  Gould  described  many  other  varieties  with  much  minute 
ness,  illustrating  their  peculiarities  from  specimens  in  his  hands. 

The  morning  lecture  by  Mr.  THEODORE  S.  GOLD  of  this  State 
was  on  Root  Crops — the  field  turnip,  ruta-baga,  beet,  carrot, 
and  parsnip — the  soil  they  severally  required,  their  culture, 
composition,  and  uses. 

Root  culture,  says  Mr.  Gold,  is  the  basis  of  successful  Eng 
lish  farming.  As  a  means  of  supporting  an  increased  stock,  of 
supplying  an  abundance  of  enriching  manure,  and  in  thorough 
culture  thus  preparing  for  other  crops,  its  value  there  proves 
inestimable ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  its  more  extended  in 
troduction  here  must  be  one  of  the  means  of  securing  that  high 
degree  of  productiveness  which  constitutes  the  most  successful 
agriculture.  The  estimated  value  of  the  root  crop  of  Britain 
amounts  to  £20,000,000,  or  upward  of  $100,000,000,  while  its 
subsequent  advantages,  as  preparatory  for  other  crops,  vastly 
exceed  this  sum.  It  was  a  remark  of  Daniel  Webster  that, 
"  Take  away  turnip  culture,  and  England  would  become  bank 
rupt." 

The  turnip  belongs  to  the  same  botanical  genus  as  the  cab 
bage,  which  also  embraces  in  its  varieties  the  cauliflower  and 
broccoli.  Two  or  three  species  are  made  by  some  botanists 
of  the  turnips,  which  exhibit  such  great  variations  in  form 
and  color,  while  others  embrace  them  all  in  one.  No  class  of 
plants  exhibit  greater  adaptation  to  the  various  conditions  to 


124  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

which  it  is  subjected  by  culture,  and  though  they  have  been 
long  known,  it  is  but  recently  that  they  have  acquired  any 
importance  as  farm  crops.  Hence  we  may  anticipate  a  high 
degree  of  improvement  in  the  future.  While  the  average  of 
the  turnip  crop  of  the  State  of  New  York  is  shown  by  Mr. 
Randall  to  be  only  88  bushels  per  acre,  this  is  far  below  the 
capacity  of  the  soil  as  is  proved  by  the  reported  premium  crops, 
reaching,  in  one  instance,  as  high  as  2,102  bushels  per  acre. 
The  details  of  management  in  the  case  of  this  crop  were  given, 
in  the  language  of  the  cultivator,  J.  T.  Andrew,  of  West 
Cornwall,  Conn.,  to  show  what  results  may  be  attained  by 
skilful  culture.  New  land  produces  the  best  turnips  for  all 
purposes,  especially  for  table  use.  Sow  white  turnips  in  drills, 
or  broadcast,  the  latter  part  of  July ;  ruta-bagas  the  last  of 
June,  in  drills,  twenty-five  to  thirty  inches  apart.  Quantity  of 
seed,  one  pound  per  acre.  The  most  thorough  preparation  of 
the  soil  by  deep  and  careful  plowing,  and  early  and  repeated 
tillage  by  the  horse-  and  hand-hoes,  are  necessary  in  the  highest 
degree  in  this  and  all  the  other  root-crops.  The  ruta-baga  is  a 
gross  feeder,  and  requires  an  abundance  of  manure  either  in  a 
raw  state  or  fermented.  This  may  be  applied  broadcast,  or 
under  the  drills.  Bones  and  super-phosphates  are  considered 
essentials  to  turnip  culture  in  England.  My  experiments  with 
them  have  proved  quite  undecisive  as  to  their  value  here. 
Early  thinning  to  a  distance  of  twelve  inches  in  the  row  is  re 
quired  for  the  largest  produce.  If  sown  late,  for  table  use, 
they  may  stand  much  closer. 

The  beet  in  the  form  of  the  sugar  beet  in  France  and  Ger 
many,  and  the  mangold  wurtzel  in  Great  Britain,  is  taking  a 
position  of  more  importance  than  even  the  turnip.  It  requires 
much  the  same  culture  as  the  ruta-baga,  while  the  greater 
yield  of  the  mangold,  its  freedom  from  disease  and  the  attacks 
of  insects,  and  its  superior  keeping  qualities,  render  it  a  gen 
eral  favorite,  while  its  fitness  for  enduring  heat  and  drouth 
especially  adapt  it  to  our  wants.  The  quantity  of  seed  varies 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  125 

from  two  to  four  pounds,  according  to  the  manner  of  sowing. 
The  drill  sows  it  very  unequally,  from  the  rough  surface  and 
varying  size  of  the  seed  capsules.  It  is  better  sown  by  dib 
bling  with  some  instrument,  at  regular  distances  of  twelve 
inches  in  the  drill.  Sow  in  May  or  June,  about  the  time  of 
planting  corn,  and  harvest  before  severe  frost.  It  keeps  admi 
rably,  even  till  the  new  crop  grows  again.  It  is  not  considered 
fit  for  use  in  England  till  after  Christmas.  It  is  excellent  for 
sneep,  cattle,  and  swine.  The  latter  prefer  it  to  potatoes  or 
carrots.  Twenty  pounds  is  not  a  very  large  size  for  this  root. 
The  lecturer  here  exhibited  one  of  his  own  raising,  weighing 
20  Ibs.  The  amount  per  acre  of  1,200  or  1,500  bushels  is  here 
considered  a  very  good  crop,  while  in  France  and  Germany 
report?  are  given  of  crops  almost  exceeding  belief.  Mons. 
Auguste  de  Gaspariir,  in  the  Journal  d1  Agriculture  Pratique, 
reports  having  raised  on  one-fourth  of  an  acre  127  tons  of 
2,000  pounds  each,  or  5,080  bushels  of  beets,  at  50  pounds  per 
bushel.  He  also  states  that  Mons.  Koechlin,  in  Alsatia,  raised 
at  the  rate  of  156  tons  per  acre,  or  6,240  bushels.  The  roots 
averaged  374-  Ibs.  each,  and  as  this  allows  five  square  feet  for 
each  plant,  it  is  quite  within  the  limits  of  possibility. 

The  carrot  is  the  most  esteemed  of  all  the  roots  for  its  feed 
ing  qualities.  When  analyzed  it  gives  but  little  more  solid 
matter  than  the  other  roots,  85  per  cent,  being  water  ;  but  its 
influence  in  the  stomach  upon  the  other  articles  of  food  is  most 
favorable,  conducing  to  their  most  perfect  digestion  and  assim 
ilation.  This  result,  long  known  to  practical  men,  is  explained 
by  chemists  as  resulting  from  the  presence  of  a  substance 
called  pectine,  which  operates  to  coagulate  or  gelatinize  vege 
table  solutions,  and  favors  this  digestion.  Horses  are  especially 
benefited  by  the  use  of  carrots.  In  that  true  "  high  farming" 
which  is  most  eminently  profitable,  the  culture  of  roots  holds 
an  important  place.  It  requires  labor  and  requires  capital ; 
tat  the  foolish  system  of  labor-saving,  by  abstaining  from  its 
use,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  very  much  of  the  wretched  farm- 


126  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

ing  with  which  we  are  so  justly  charged.  In  that  happy  con 
dition  of  Connecticut  agriculture  in  which  every  acre  in  this 
State  shall  either  support  its  cow  or  produce  its  equivalent  in 
value  for  animal  or  human  food,  successful  root  culture  must 
exercise  an  important  part. 


SIXTEENTH  DAY.— FEB.  18,  1860. 

Hear  what  old  Mr.  LEVI  BARTLETT,  of  New  Hampshire,  said 
yesterday  in  opening  his  farmer-like  lecture  on  the  cultivation 
of  winter  wheat  in  New  England :  "  It  may  be  asked  why  one 
so  conscious  of  oratorical  defects,  should  attempt  speaking  at 
all,  especially  in  such  a  convocation  as  this.  I  can  only  answer 
in  the  words  of  the  wily  old  Roman,  that  I  am  a  plain,  blunt 
man,  who  loves  the  cause ;  and  therefore  am  I  come  to  speak, 
but  most  of  all  to  hear,  in  this  assembly.  And  if  forty  years 
of  study  of  the  principles  of  agriculture,  and  full  twenty  devoted 
to  practice,  with  an  enthusiasm  which  time  has  not  abated, 
give  me  any  claim  on  your  attention,  then  I  trust  to  your  gi-n- 
erosity  to  excuse  the  manner  for  the  sake  of  the  matter."  Con 
sidering  that  the  matter  was  of  an  eminently  practical  charac 
ter,  and  that  friend  Bartlett's  quaint  jokes  kept  the  convention 
in  a  roar,  his  apology  was  scarcely  needed. 

Mr.  Bartlett  said  that  from  his  earliest  recollection  down  to 
1852,  spring  wheat  was  the  only  kind  raised  in  New  Hamp 
shire.  In  fact,  he  never  saw  a  field  of  winter  wheat  until  he 
was  fifty  years  of  age.  Spring  wheat  had,  in  general,  been 
pretty  successfully  grown  on  all  land  that  would  produce  corn, 
until  the  appearance  of  the  midge,  some  quarter  of  a  century 
ago.  The  ravages  of  this  pernicious  insect  were  so  great,  es 
pecially  on  valley  farms,  that  the  culture  of  wheat  was  in  great 
part  abandoned,  so  that  a  large  part  of  our  farmers,  as  well  as 
those  of  all  other  professions,  depended  upon  Western  and 
Southern  flour  for  their  wh eaten  bread ;  and  as  there  was 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  127 

but  little  else  eaten,  it  has  been  a  mystery  among  our  most 
acute  financiers  how  the  people  paid  for  all  this  "  boughten 
flour/'  But  within  the  past  six  or  eight  years,  matters  in 
this  respect  have  greatly  mended,  in  consequence  of  many  of 
our  New  Hampshire  farmers  having  turned  their  attention  to 
the  culture  of  winter  wheat,  in  which  most  of  them  have  been 
very  successful. 

In  the  summer  of  1852,  the  son  of  his  (Mr.  Bartlett's)  neigh 
bor  was  in  western  New  York,  and  was  so  pleased  with  the 
fields  of  winter  wheat,  that  he  took  home  with  him  four 
teen  quarts  of  the  "  bald  "  variety  of  white  wheat  grown  there. 
This  was  sown  on  about  one-third  of  an  acre  of  dry,  loamy 
land.  From  a  combination  of  favorable  circumstances,  it  yield 
ed  sixteen  bushels  of  prime  wheat,  at  the  rate  of  forty-eight 
bushels  per  acre.  Nearly  all  of  the  sixteen  bushels  was  readi 
ly  sold  for  seed  at  $3  per  bushel,  and  as  was  to  be  expected, 
under  the  excitement  and  the  entire  ignorance  of  its  proper 
culture  by  the  farmers,  some  succeeded  well,  while  others 
made  a  partial  or  total  failure.  In  1853,  he  sowed  one  bushel 
on  light,  pine  land,  from  which  a  crop  of  beans  had  been  re 
moved  at  the  time  of  sowing  the  wheat,  he  applying  to  the  land 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  Peruvian  guano.  The  wheat 
was  so\vn  20th  of  September,  at  least  twenty-five  days  too'  late. 
The  yield  was  about  nine  bushels.  For  the  five  past  years,  he 
has  been  experimenting  with  winter  wheat  on  a  variety  of 
soils,  and  with  different  manures.  He  has  grown  it  on  inter 
vale  lands,  on  hills,  on  light,  dry  soils,  and  stiff,  heavy  ones. 
These  last,  however,  have  always  been  ridged  up,  turnpike 
like,  and  the  dead-furrows  well  cleaned  out  to  drain  off  the 
water.  Sometimes  the  wheat  has  been  sown  on  a  newly  in 
verted  timothy  sod ;  at  other  times  on  a  clover  ley,  and  upon 
wheat  and  oat  stubble.  In  every  instance  the  land  has  been 
pretty  liberally  manured  with  farmyard  manure,  or  guano. 
During  the  six  or  seven  years  he  has  grown  it,  it  has  suffered 
but  very  little  from  winter-killing,  nor  has  it  been  injured  to 


128  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

any  great  amount  by  the  midge,  although  his  own  spring 
wheat,  and  that  of  his  neighbors,  has  been  nearly  ruined  by  that 
insect.  As  an  illustration  of  this,  he  stated  that,  in  185T  he 
harvested  twenty-eight  bushels  of  prime  winter  wheat  from 
seven  pecks  sowing  of  the  previous  autumn.  From  a  bushel 
of  spring  wheat,  sown  in  May,  1857,  he  harvested  but  seven 
pecks,  and  of  a  very  poor  quality  at  that.  His  crops  have 
averaged  about  fifteen  bushels  to  the  bushel  of  seed  sown; 
many  of  the  farmers  in  his  vicinity  have  raised  twenty  bushels, 
and  over,  from  the  bushel  of  seed  sown ;  and  one  farmer  raised 
on  "hill-land"  last  season,  twenty-two  bushels  from  a  bushel  of 
seed,  while  another,  on  a  low-lying  farm,  grew  ninety-one  bushels 
from  four  and  a  half  bushels  of  seed.  These  "out  west "  might 
not  be  considered  very  great  crops,  but  they  are  more  than 
twice  as  large  as  those  of  spring  wheat,  in  his  section  of  New 
Hampshire,  have  averaged  of  late  years. 

He  has  been  experimenting  for  several  years  with  a  great 
variety  of  Patent  Office  wheats.  Out  of  the  number  only  four 
varieties  have  been  found  adapted  to  his  place.  Of  these  the 
"  early  Japan,"  the  original  of  which  was  brought  from  Japan 
by  the  late  Commodore  Perry,  is  a  red  wheat,  some  ten 
days  earlier  than  any  other  variety  he  has  grown,  its  earliness 
putting  it  beyond  injury  from  the  midge.  The  "Tuscan  wheat," 
from  Michigan,  which  was  distributed  by  the  Patent  Office, 
was  accompanied  by  a  certificate  from  several  Michigan  farmers, 
which  showed  that  it  had  been  grown  there  for  seven  years, 
and  had  never  been  known  to  rust.  It  is  a  large-grained, 
flinty  variety,  yielding  fifty  pounds  A  No.  1  flour  to  the  bushel. 
The  "  Early  Noe,"  the  original  seed  of  which  was  procured 
from  France,  has  the  merit  of  early  maturity,  as  it  was  said  to 
be  ten  days  earlier  than  any  other  grown  in  the  dominions  of 
Napoleon.  With  Mr.  B.  it  has  not  proved  earlier  than  his 
other  varieties.  It  has  a  good-sized  kernel,  and  very  stiif, 
white  straw,  and  promises  to  be  a  variety  worthy  of  general 
cultivation.  General  Harmon's  "improved  white  flint,"  from 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  129 

the  Patent  Office,  is  a  most  beautiful  wheat ;  hardy,  produc 
tive,  and  making  the  finest  quality  of  flour  and  bread.  Also, 
another  variety  of  white  wheat,  yielding  fifty-seven  pounds  of 
fine  flour  to  the  bushel. 

Samples  of  all  the  above  varieties,  both  in  the  straw,  and  the 
grain  in  bottles,  were  exhibited  during  his  lecture,  which  fully 
sustained  his  positions  in  regard  to  the  adaptation  of  our  New 
England  soil  and  climate  to  the  profitable  production  of  winter 
wheat.  He  usually  carries  four  bushels  of  his  wheat  to  mill, 
to  make  a  barrel  of  flour,  and  pays  for  the  grinding  some  thirty 
cents;  and  he  finds  a  material  difference  between  this,  and 
handing  over  a  ten  dollar  bill,  or  giving  his  note  for  that  amount 
for  a  barrel  of  Milwaukie  or  Chicago  flour. 

To  insure  success  in  raising  winter  wheat  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  the  land  must  be  dry,  in  good  heart,  and  well-worked. 
The  seed  should  be  sown  from  the  20th  of  August  to  the  5th 
of  September.  It  should  be  thus  early  sown  to  have  it  get 
well-rooted  before  winter,  and  to  hasten  its  maturity,  so  as  to 
escape  the  midge.  A  difference  of  five  or  ten  days  in  the 
blossoming  of  a  field  of  wheat  frequently  makes  the  difference 
between  a  very  good,  and  a  very  poor  crop.  This  is  owing  to 
the  midge.  He  has,  by  sowing  early,  escaped  loss  from  the 
midge  and  rust,  while  some  of  his  neighbors,  who  have  delayed 
sowing  till  after  their  corn  was  harvested,  have  suffered  by 
winter-kill,  midge,  and  rust. 

Learning  that  Col.  Cate,  of  Northfield,  N".  H.,  had  been  very 
successful  in  growing  winter  wheat  for  a  number  of  years, 
Mr.  B.  wrote  to  him  upon  the  subject  in  December  last.  He 
read  an  extract  from  the  Col.'s  letter,  which  is  as  follows  : 

"I  commenced  the  cultivation  of  winter  wheat  in  the  year 
1850,  and  have  continued  it  without  interruption  up  to  the 
present  time.  The  first  year  I  sowed  one  bushel  of  the  ;  white- 
bald  winter  wheat,'  on  the  6th  day  of  September  of  that  year, 
on  land  which  had  grown  a  crop  of  corn  the  same  season.  The 
land  had  been  tolerably  well  manured  in  the  spring;  but 
6* 


130  YALE  AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

from  some  cause,  I  hardly  know  what,  did  not  produce  a  large 
crop  of  corn.  The  wheat  came  up  well,  and  tillered  linely 
during  the  autumn  following.  When  winter  set  in,  it  stood 
all  over  the  piece  ankle-deep,  and  quite  thick.  In  the  spring 
following,  and  before  the  warm  weather  set  in,  it  seemed  to 
retain  all  its  freshness  of  color  and  vitality.  It  did  not  suffer 
in  the  least  from  the  winter  cold,  nor  the  spring  frosts.  It 
was  harvested  in  July,  and  by  my  record  of  crops  I  find  it  was 
threshed  August  7,  1851.  It  measured  up,  of  clean  wheat, 
twenty-four  bushels,  and  weighed  sixty-five  and  a  half  pounds 
per  hushel.  As  already  said,  I  have  continued  to  raise  winter 
wheat  ever  since,  and  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  it  is  safer,  by 
far,  and  surer  than  summer  wheat,  for  most  soils  in  our  State. 

"  My  method  of  culture  has  been  briefly  as  follows :  In  the 
first  place,  I  have  cultivated  on  ground  which  had  been  hoed, 
and  on  the  inverted  sod,  breaking  at  or  about  the  time  of  sow 
ing.  Out  of  the  time  I  think  I  have  sowed  four  years  on  the 
recently  broken  up  land,  and  I  do  not  see  but  that  I  have  suc 
ceeded  in  one  case  as  well  as  in  the  other.  I  hardly  need  say 
that  the  land  in  either  case  should  be  thoroughly  plowed  and 
harrowed.  I  have  invariably  soaked  my  seed  in  a  strong  solu 
tion  of  salt  and  water,  and  most  of  the  time  have  used  4  Glau 
ber's  salts'  with  the  common  coarse  salt — not,  however,  soak 
ing  the  seed  more  than  two  hours.  After  draining  it,  I  have 
generally  rolled  it  in  ashes,  and  then  sowed  immediately.  If 
my  land  has  been  cultivated  and  manured  the  spring  before,  I 
use  no  other  manure  or  stimulant  at  the  time  of  sowing.  If 
not,  as  in  the  case  of  newly  broken  up  land,  I  have  used,  and 
am  so  well  satisfied  with  the  results  that  I  shall  continue  to  use, 
from  ten  to  fifteen  bushels  of  ashes,  with  from  one  to  two  bush 
els  of  salt,  per  acre,  sown  broadcast  over  the  field  at  the  time 
of  sowing  the  seed.  The  result  has  always  been  a  larger  crop 
than  under  the  most  favorable  seasons  I  could  get  from  spring 
wheat  sown  on  the  same  kind  of  soil,  and  side  by  side." 

Col.  Gate,  as  well  as  Mr.  B.,  thinks  that  winter  wheat  can  be 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL    LECTURES.  131 

grown  with  as  much  certainty  in  New  England,  as  it  is  by 
western  farmers,  but,  not  as  cheaply — for  here  we  must  use 
manure  to  obtain  good  crops. 

Mr.  GOULD'S  third  lecture,  to-day,  was  devoted  to  a  descrip 
tion  of  the  grasses  and  clovers,  in  continuation  of  his  lecture 
yesterday.  He  denied  the  distinctions  of  the  genus  Festuca,  as 
laid  down  in  botanical  works,  asserting  that  F.  oviua  and  F.  ru- 
bra  were  merely  variations  of  F.  duriuscula,  and  that  F.  loliacea 
and  F.  pratense  were  varieties  of  F.  elatior.  It  is  sufficient  for  all 
the  purposes  of  the  farmer  to  divide  the  genus  into  two  classes  : 

1.  Those  having  more  or  less  hairs  on  the  leaves ;  and 

2.  Those  having  smooth  leaves. 

This  genus  affords  us  some  species  that  are  of  great  value  in 
an  agricultural  point  of  view,  each  of  which,  under  certain 
circumstances,  is  of  great  value,  and  very  permanent  in  its 
forms  and  qualities.  Thus:  F.  ovina  is  essentially  a  grass  of 
the  thin  soils  resting  upon  rocky  uplands,  as  on  the  mountain 
limestone  and  most  mountain  ranges. 

F.  duriuscula. — In  the  valleys  between  such  hills,  and  in  the 
more  sheltered  pastures  of  the  upland  districts. 

F.  rubra.—Iu  the  more  sandy  loams  of  the  lowland  meadow, 
and  by  the  sea-shore. 

F.  loliacea. — Rich  meadows  on  river  banks,  or  under  irriga 
tion. 

F.  pratensis. — Best  lowland  meadows,  not  liable  to  floods. 

F.  elatior. — On  sandy  clays,  or  other  stiff  and  strong  lands, 
especially  on  the  sea-shore. 

The  festucas  are  invariably  present  in  our  best  pastures,  and 
especially  present  in  those  of  the  most  famous  cheese  districts. 

The  F.  pratensis  is  worth  $3  33,  where  timothy  is  worth  $5, 
per  ton.  It  follows  next  after  meadow  fox-tail  as  an  early  grass, 
and  affords  a  bite  earlier  than  orchard-grass. 

He  gave  the  JBromus  family  a  very  bad  name,  adducing  a 
number  of  experiments  to  show  that  it  was  neither  agreeable 


132  YALE   AGRICULTURAL    LECTURES. 

nor  nutritious  to  cattle.  BrornxM  ercctus  was  said  to  be  the 
only  perennial  species  in  the  genus.  Early  mowing  was  recom 
mended  as  a  means  of  extirpating  this  family.  Pheasants  are 
exceedingly  fond  of  the  seeds,  and  frequently  pick  off  the 
spikelets  before  the  seeds  are  ripe,  that  they  may  enjoy  the 
much  coveted  luxury. 

Lolium  perrenne,  or  Rye-grass,  is  still  the  favorite  grass  of 
England.  It  occupies  there  the  same  place  that  timothy  does 
with  us,  and  is  probably  better  adapted  to  a  wet  climate  like 
England  than  to  a  dry  one  like  ours.  Sixty  varieties  are  culti 
vated  in  England  of  this  one  species.  One  of  the  most  remark 
able  of  these  is  the  viviparous  Rye-grass,  which  grows  there 
with  great  luxuriance.  After  midsummer  it  is  strictly  vivipa 
rous,  never  producing  either  flowers  or  seeds,  but  young  plants 
from  the  glumes,  which,  when  the  original  plant  is  supported, 
will  produce  new  plants  from  two  to  three  inches  in  length. 

Lolium  Italicum,  Italian  Rye-grass,  is  worth  $2  69  when 
timothy  is  worth  $5.  One  hundred  pounds  of  it  give  twenty- 
four  and  a  half  pounds  of  dry  hay.  It  is  best  adapted  to  lime 
stone  and  light  soils,  and  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  varieties 
for  irrigated  meadows. 

Triticum  repens,  known  as  "quack,"  "twitch,"  or  "dog" 
grass,  is  very  easily  recognized  by  its  spikelet  of  eight-  or  ten- 
awned  flowers  placed  flatwise  toward  the  sachis.  It  is  a  terri 
ble  pest  in  alternate  husbandry,  growing  in  all  sorts  of  soils, 
and  robbing  the  cultivated  plants  of  the  richest  portion  of  their 
food.  In  very  dry  seasons  it  may  be  killed  by  plowing  it  very 
thoroughly  in  July,  and  sowing  the  ground  with  buckwheat. 
Its  culms  (stalks)  sometimes  attain  an  altitude  of  three  feet, 
but  it  ordinarily  stands  two  feet  high.  It  forms  a  tolerably 
good  hay,  and  is  much  relished  by  the  stock  as  a  pasture  grass. 
It  operates  as  an  emetic  on  dogs ;  and  is  very  useful  in  binding 
the  sloping  banks  of  railroads. 

Anthoxanthum  odoratum,  Sweet-scented  vernal  grass,  is  not 
very  valuable  for  hay  or  for  pasture,  as  one  hundred  pounds  of 


YALE   AGRICULTUEAL   LECTURES.  133 

it  give  only  nineteen  and  three-quarters  pounds  of  dry  hay. 
An  acre  only  yields  three-quarters  of  a  ton  of  dry  hay.  It 
starts  very  early  in  the  spring,  and  continues  to  throw  out  leaves 
during  the  summer.  Its  after-math  is  more  valuable  than  the 
first  growth,  and  is  supposed  to  communicate  the  peculiar  fla 
vor  which  characterizes  the  Philadelphia  butter. 

Glyceria  nervata  grows  in  wet  places.  Its  culms  (stalks) 
are  extremely  succulent;  it  is  the  hardiest  grass  in  existence, 
and  always  grows  more  vigorously  after  a  severe  winter  than 
after  a  mild  one. 

Poa  serotina,  or  Fowl-meadow,  is  one  of  the  earliest  grasses 
cultivated  in  this  country,  and  is  still  among  the  best.  It  does 
not  injure  by  standing,  as  do  other  grasses;  but  may  be  cut  at 
almost  any  time.  Hares  and  rabbits  are  extremely  fond  of  it. 
It  is  easily  made  into  hay,  and  never  seems  hard  or  harsh,  and 
produces  sound  seeds  in  great  abundance. 

Trisetum  subspicatum  is  a  mean,  stingy  grass,  growing  on 
stiff,  clayey  hill-sides  which  have  a  northern  aspect.  It  is  only 
fit  to  be  grown  on  soils  that  will  bear  nothing  else. 

Zizania  aquatica. — Mr.  Gould  spoke  of  this  grass  as  grow 
ing  in  places  that  were  wholly  covered  with  water.  It  is  very 
sweet  and  nutritious,  and  cows  fed  upon  it  have  a  copious  flow 
of  milk.  In  favorable  situations  it  produces  five  or  six  tons  to 
the  acre,  growing  to  the  height  of  nine  feet.  Many  birds,  es 
pecially  the  rail,  fatten  on  it  in  autumn.  The  Indians  collected 
its  seeds,  which  resemble  rice,  and  stored  them  for  winter  use. 

Mr.  Gould  spoke  at  great  length  of  the  clovers,  detailing 
many  interesting  facts  in  relation  to  them,  and  giving  much 
practical  advice  respecting  their  cultivation.  He  especially  re 
commended  the  increased  culture  of  lucerne  (medicago  sativa). 
The  best  soil  for  it  is  a  sandy  one,  resting  on  a  porous  calcare 
ous  subsoil.  Its  roots  penetrate  fourteen  feet  in  depth,  and 
hence  a  hard  subsoil  is  fatal  to  successful  growth.  It  arrives  at 
its  greatest  perfection  after  three  years.  In  one  recorded  case, 
eleven  acres  sufficed  to  keep  eleven  horses  two  hundred  and 


134  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

ninety-nine  days.  In  another,  a  field  of  eight  acres  kept  eight 
horses  three  hundred  and  fifteen  days.  In  both  cases  a  large 
number  of  sheep  were  fed  on  the  ground  after  the  last  cutting 
for  the  horses.  Chancellor  Livingston,  in  Columbia  county, 
!N".  Y.,  cut  twenty-five  tons  from  an  acre  in  five  mowings.  It 
is  ready  for  cutting  about  the  first  of  May,  and  may  be  cut  over 
every  thirty  days  thereafter.  It  is  remarkably  adapted  for 
milch  cows,  where  the  milk  is  sold  in  the  market,  but  butter 
made  from  it  is  not  so  sweet  as  from  other  grasses.  It  is  greatly 
relished  by  both  horses  and  cattle  ;  one  hundred  pounds  of  it 
will  make  twenty-five  pounds  of  dry  hay,  and  its  nutritive 
powers  bear  such  a  relation  to  those  of  timothy,  that  it  is  worth 
$3  13  per  ton,  when  that  grass  is  worth  $5. 

The  only  difficulty  with  lucerne  is,  to  get  it  started.  It  must 
be  sown  in  drills,  and  carefully  hoed  until  it  is  large  enough  to 
cover  the  ground.  If  this  precaution  is  taken,  and  a  drouth 
does  not  occur  just  as  the  young  plants  are  starting,  it  will  be 
pretty  sure  to  succeed,  and  will  last  for  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years.  If,  however,  it  is  overrun  with  weeds  in  the  beginning, 
or  a  severe  drouth  occurs,  it  grows  feebly  and  soon  dries  out. 
The  seed  is  covered  with  a  very  hard  and  compact  coat,  which, 
if  the  weather  be  dry,  will  greatly  retard  vegetation.  It  is, 
therefore,  generally  the  practice  to  steep  it  in  warm  water, 
to  soften  the  coat,  for  six  or  eight  hours  before  sowing.  From 
fourteen  to  eighteen  pounds  of  seeds  are  usually  sown  on  an 
acre ;  but,  as  many  of  the  seeds  are  imperfect,  and  as  fine  and 
succulent  plants  are  more  desirable  than  coarse  and  rank  ones, 
it  is  better  economy  to  sow  twenty-five  pounds. 

The  following  table  gives  the  comparative  value  of  lucerne 
and  common  pasture.  After  being  kept  on  lucerne  for  about 
ten  days,  the  milk  of  three  cows  was  separately  measured,  and 
the  produce  in  Scotch  pints  was,  on  the  28th  of  May,  as  follows : 

No.  1.— Calved  in  March,  gave 13    pints. 

No.  2. — Calved  in  January,  gave 10| 

No.  3.— Calved  in  May,  gave 10        " 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  135 

They  were  then  put  alternately  in  pasture  and  lucerne  during 
the  following  periods,  when  the  produce  was  found  to  be: 


Pasture. 

Lucerne. 

Pasture. 

Lucerne. 

To  June  8 

To  June  13. 

To  July  13. 

To  July  19. 

No.  1.—  12  J  pints. 

12|  pints. 

10    pints. 

11    pints. 

No.  2.—  94      " 

10|      " 

91      " 

10        " 

No.  3.—  10i      " 

10        " 

9       " 

8f      « 

Mr.  Gould  spoke  at  length  of  sainfoin,  tares,  and  succory, 
and  after  the  conclusion  of  the  lecture  he  exhibited  the  vari 
ous  grasses  of  which  he  had  spoken,  to  the  more  zealous  stu 
dents,  and  gave  them  particular  instruction  in  the  botanical 
analysis  of  the  different  genera  and  species.  He  urged  them 
very  earnestly  to  make  themselves  experts  in  the  botany  of  the 
grasses,  assuring  them  that  this  was  essential  to  the  acquisi 
tion  of  a  correct  knowledge  respecting  them.  And  I  am  happy 
to  know  that  a  large  number  of  the  students  expressed  them 
selves  determined  to  enter  vigorously  on  the  study  of  the 
grasses,  and  forage  plants  of  our  country. 


SEVENTEENTH  DAY.— FEB.  20,  1860. 

This,  the  fourth  and  last  week  of  the  course,  is  especially  de 
voted  to  the  subject  of  stock-breeding  ;  but  Professor  B.  SILLI- 
MAX,  Jr.,  gave  us  this  morning  a  lecture  on  Meteorology, 
devoting  the  hour  to  a  very  simple  and  elementary  discussion 
of  the  phenomena  of  the  atmosphere  as  respects  the  fall  of  rain 
and  the  distribution  of  temperature,  describing  the  thermome 
ter,  hygrometer,  and  rain-gauge. 

He  spoke  briefly  of  climates,  and  seasons,  and  the  influence 
of  the  sun,  not  only  in  causing  the  differences  of  seasons,  but 
on  the  mean  daily  temperature.  The  mean  daily  temperature 
at  Philadelphia  had  been  found  to  be  one  degree  above  the 
temperature  at  9  A.  M.  The  average  annual  temperature  of 
the  atmosphere  diminishes  from  the  equator  towards  the  poles. 


136  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

But  the  temperature  is  not  the  same  for  places  in  the  same  lat 
itude  in  the  two  hemispheres,  as  is  seen  in  the  following  table  : 

PLACES.  LAT.  TEMP.  PLACES.  I.AT.  TUMP. 

Falkland  Isles,        51°  S          47°  23     London,  51°  31'  N    50°  -72 

Buenos  Ayres.         34°  36'  S     62°  6        Savannah,  32°  05'  N"    64°  -58 

Rio  Janeiro,  22°  56'  S    73°  96      Calcutta,  22°  35'  N    78°  '44 

This  variation  is  owing  to  a  variety  of  local  causes,  such  as 
the  elevation  and  form  of  the  land,  proximity  to  large  bodies 
of  water,  the  general  direction  of  winds,  etc.  v 

The  temperature  of  the  air  diminishes  with  the  altitude.  As 
a  general  rule,  it  may  be  stated  that  there  is  a  diminution  in 
temperature  of  1°  F.  for  every  343  feet  of  elevation.  On  ris 
ing  from  near  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  rate  of  decrease  is  more 
rapid ;  after  a  certain  height  is  reached  it  proceeds  more 
slowly ;  but  in  very  elevated  regions  it  again  increases. 

It  follows  from  this  that  in  every  latitude,  at  a  certain  eleva 
tion,  there  must  be  a  point  where  moisture  once  frozen  must 
ever  remain  congealed.  The  lowest  point  at  which  this  is  at 
tained  is  called  the  limit  of  perpetual  snow,  or  the  snow-line. 
This  point  is  highest  near  the  equator,  and  sinks  towards  either 
pole,  as  is  shown  in  the  table. 

PLACES.  LATITUDE.  SNOW    LINES. 

Straits  of  Magellan,  54°  S  3,760  feet. 

Chili,  41°  S  6,009     •• 

Quito,  00°  15,807     " 

Mexico,  19°  N  14,763     " 

^Etna,  37°  30'  N  9,531     " 

Kamtschatka,  56°  40'  N  5,248     " 

Isothermal  lines  were  very  briefly  illustrated  from  a  map  of 
the  United  States,  on  which  were  traced  from  the  map  in  the 
Patent  Office  Report  for  1856-7,  the  lines  of  summer  and  win 
ter  temperature  in  various  latitudes.  The  great  value  and 
importance  of  such  researches  to  agriculture  were  insisted  on 
by  the  lecturer  as  giving  the  only  rational  explanation  to 
anomalies  of  climate,  etc.,  otherwise  inexplicable.  The  great 
contrast  between  the  latitudes  and  isothermes  of  wheat  and 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  137 

other  grains,  of  the  limits  of  the  vine,  of  maize,  etc.,  was  pointed 
out  on  a  chart,  and  in  this  connection  the  summer  climate  of 
British  Columbia  was  alluded  to.  He  also  called  attention  to 
the  marked  difference  in  the  winter  climates  of  the  two  oceanic 
borders  of  the  continent,  as  compared  with  the  corresponding 
latitudes  in  the  interior. 

The  Aqueous  Phenomena  of  the  atmosphere  were  next  con 
sidered.  The  presence  of  moisture  in  the  air  at  all  times  was 
explained,  its  amount  depending  on  the  temperature. 

That  the  capacity  for  moisture  is  greater  as  the  temperature 
increases  was  shown  by  the  following  table. 

A  body  of  air  can  absorb  : 

At  32°  F.  the  160th  part  of  its  own  weight  of  watery  vapor. 
"   59°  "     "       80th  "  "  "  " 

"   86°   "      "      40th  "  "  "  '« 

"113°    "      "      20th  "  "  "  » 

It  will  be  noticed  that  for  every  27°  of  temperature  above 
32°,  the  capacity  of  air  for  moisture  is  doubled.  From  this  it 
follows,  that  while  the  temperature  of  the  air  advances  in  an 
arithmetical  series,  its  capacity  for  moisture  is  accelerated  in  a 
geometrical  series. 

The  lecturer  here  exhibited  various  forms  of  hygrometers, 
and  illustrated  their  use  experimentally  : — Saussure's  hair  hy 
grometer,  various  hygroscopes,  Daniells'  condensation  hygrom 
eter,  and  August's  hygrometer  of  evaporation.  He  also  exhib 
ited  a  simple  substitute  for  the  costly  condensation  hygrometer, 
being  nothing  but  a  bright  silver  goblet  or  tumbler  containing 
water  and  lumps  of  ice.  The  first  condensation  of  dew  on  the 
polished  metallic  surface  is  watched  for,  and  the  instant  it  ap 
pears  the  difference  between  the  thermometer  in  the  iced 
water  and  the  air  is  noted.  This  gives  the  dew  point,  or  tem 
perature  at  which  fog  would  be  produced. 

The  mode  of  measuring  the  rain  fall  was  also  described. 
One  of  the  simplest  rain-gauges  was  a  cylindrical  vessel  of  tin, 
or  copper,  furnished  with  a  float :  the  rain  falling  into  the  ves- 


138  YALE   AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

sel,  the  float  rises.     The  stem  is  graduated  so  that  a  depth  of 
water  of  one  one-hundredth  of  an  inch  is  easily  measured. 

The  unequal  distribution  of  rain  over  the  surface  of  the  earth 
was  touched  upon,  and  the  influence  of  mountain  ranges  was 
pointed  out  in  causing  precipitation  of  rain.  As  a  general  rule 
the  amount  of  rain  was  in  proportion  to  the  average  tempera 
ture  ;  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  to  the  amount  of  evaporation: 
local  causes,  however,  very  greatly  modify  this  general  rule. 
The  number  of  rainy  days  bears  no  proportion  (or  an  inverse 
one)  to  the  amount  of  rain  which  falls  in  particular  latitudes. 
Thus  while  the  yearly  fall  of  rain  in  the  tropics  is  ninety-five 
inches,  there  are  not  over  seventy  rainy  days ;  while  here,  with 
an  annual  rain  fall  of  about  forty  inches,  we  have  one  hun 
dred  and  thirty  or  more  rainy  days.  The  following  table 
shows  that  the  ordinary  rains  of  the  tropical  regions  are  more 
powerful  than  those  of  the  temperate  regions. 

M.   LATITUDE.  MEAN   ANNUAL  NUMBEE  OF  EAINY  DAYS. 

From  12°  to  43°  78. 

"  43°  "  46°  103. 

"  46°  "  50°  134. 

"  50°  "  60°  161. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  United  States  there  are,  on  the 
average,  about  134  rainy  days  in  the  year ;  in  the  southern 
part,  about  103. 

The  greatest  annual  depth  of  rain  occurs  at  San  Luis,  Maran- 
ham,  280  inches ;  the  next  in  order  are  Vera  Cruz,  278 ;  Gre 
nada,  126;  Cape  Fram;ois,  120;  Calcutta,  81;  Rome,  39; 
London,  25 ;  Uttenberg,  12*5.  In  our  country  the  average 
annual  fall  is  39-23  inches;  at  Hanover,  N".  H.,  38;  New  York 
state,  36  ;  Ohio,  42 ;  Missouri,  38'265. 

Prof.  Silliman  illustrated  these  general  principles  by  an  anal 
ysis  of  the  average  results  observed  by  Dr.  S.  P.  Hildreth,  at 
Marietta,  Ohio,  Lat.  39°  25'  1ST,  and  Long.  4°  28'  W  of  Wash 
ington  city,  for  31  years,  from  1828  to  1859.  It  appeared  from 
these  tables  that  the  rain  fall  at  Marietta  varied  from  61 '84 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES.  139 

inches  in  1858  (the  wettest  year  in  40,  and  one  in  which  there 
were  only  170  fair  days)  to  32'46  inches  in  1856 ;  the  average 
of  the  whole  period  being  42  inches. 

The  time  permitted  only  a  cursory  allusion  to  the  other 
aqueous  phenomena  of  dew,  frost,  and  hail.  The  lecturer 
pointed  out  the  defects  of  common  thermometers,  and  the 
mode  of  selecting  a  good  one.  He  remarked  that  between 
32°  and  212°  Fahrenheit  it  was  easy  to  select  an  instrument 
which  would  indicate  the  temperature  within  one  or  two  de 
grees  of  accuracy.  He  exhibited,  however,  four  instruments 
taken  that  day  from  the  stock  of  a  dealer,  from  which  he  read 
as  follows :  64°  ;  62°  ;  65°  ;  and  66°.  Below  32°  common 
thermometers  were  generally  very  unreliable ;  the  difference 
amounting  near  zero  often  to  more  than  10°.  He  stated  that 
in  old  thermometers  the  point  of  freezing  (32°)  was  found 
almost  uniformly  too  high,  and  that  the  readings  of  old  ther 
mometers  were  as  a  rule  too  high.  This  was  owing  to  a  per 
manent  displacement  of  the  zero  point,  partly  arising  from 
atmospheric,  pressure  on  the  surface  of  the  ball,  and  partly 
from  the  slow  contraction  of  the  glass  subsequent  to  the  heat 
ing  to  which  it  was  subject  in  filling. 

He  gave  practical  rules  for  the  exposure  and  observation  of 
thermometers.  A  thermometer  should  never  be  hung  against 
the  wall  of  a  house,  for  the  radiated  heat  makes  the  mercury 
rise  often  as  much  as  4°.  It  should  be  placed  on  a  post  in  the 
yard.  It  has  been  proved  that  in  our  country  the  temperature 
at  9  A.  M.  will  be  just  1°  less  than  the  average  of  the  whole 
day.  If  our  thermometer  marks  50°  at  that  hour,  we  may 
know  that  the  day  will  average  just  51°.  The  coldest  hour  of 
the  clay  is  7  A.  M.,  and  the  warmest  2  P.  M. 

He  concluded  by  commending  to  farmers  the  study  of  me 
teorology,  as  an  important  element  of  the  practical  education 
on  which  success  in  agriculture  must  depend. 

Mr.  SA:NT>FOKD  HOWARD,  of  The  Boston  Cultivator,  gave  a 


140  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

lecture  on  horses,  at  3  o'clock.  He  referred  to  the  great  diver 
sity  of  appearances  between  the  heavy  Flemish  or  English 
dray-horse,  which  will  weigh  a  ton,  and  the  little  ponies  that 
scamper  over  the  hills  of  Shetland.  The  heavy  horse  will  al 
ways  be  found  in  plain  countries,  and  good  and  fertile  districts. 
Horses  may  be  divided  into  three  classes : — first,  gallopers,  or 
runners;  second,  trotters;  third,  walkers.  The  lordly  Arab 
steed  of  the  desert  is  the  type  of  the  former  class,  as  also  is 
the  so-called  thoroughbred  racer ;  the  trim-built  Morgan,  of  the 
second ;  and  the  heavy  Conestoga  and  Clydesdale,  of  the 
third.  The  horse  is  not  a  native  of  America,  but  has  been 
introduced  at  various  points  from  various  sources.  The  wild 
horses  of  Mexico  and  some  South  American  countries  have 
sprung  from  the  animals  brought  over  by  the  Spaniards.  The 
German  settlers  of  Pennsylvania  introduced  the  heavy  draught- 
horse  of  their  fatherland.  The  French  settlers  of  Canada 
brought  another  breed — the  ancestors  of  the  Canadian  horse 
of  to-day.  The  modern  Norman,  or  Percheron  horse,  has  been 
introduced  into  New  Jersey.  The  English  and  Scotch  of 
Canada  West  have  brought  over  their  Clydesdales  and  other 
draught  horses.  The  race-horse  has  found  a  home  in  many 
parts  of  our  country ;  and  so  all  sections  have  derived  their 
horse  stock  from  the  Old  World. 

For  long  distances,  with  a  heavy  weight  on  the  back,  at  a 
galloping  pace,  the  true  Arab  is  the  best  model.  For  short 
distances,  at  headlong  speed,  and  with  light  weights  to  carry, 
the  English  racer,  or  "  thoroughbred,"  is  required.  Of  trotters, 
for  quick  driving  in  light  vehicles,  the  "roadster"  best  meets  the 
requirements,— the  best  American  horses  of  this  description 
being  probably  superior  to  any  in  the  world — certainly  supe 
rior  to  the  English.  For  city  coach-horses,  less  speed  and 
hardiness  being  needed,  an  animal  of  more  size  is  called  for ; 
a  purpose  for  which  the  Cleveland  Bay,  or  a  mixture  of  the 
race-horse  with  some  large-sized  stock  answers  well.  For  om 
nibuses  and  horse-railroad  cars,  a  more  muscular  horse,  able 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  141 

to  endure  hardship,  is  preferable  ;  and  the  French  "Percheron" 
is  well  adapted  to  this  work.  Of  horses,  the  uses  of  which 
only  require  a  walk,  and  where  heavy  burdens  are  to  be  drawn, 
a  conformation  more  adapted  to  strength  and  less  for  speed  is 
necessary.  For  heavy  draught,  some  of  the  English  and  Scot 
tish  breeds  are  best.  For  farming  work,  where  horses  are 
wholly  used,  and  for  drays,  carts,  <fcc.,  of  cities,  the  Suffolk  and 
Clydesdale  breeds  would  be  preferable  to  the  horses  now 
generally  used  for  these  purposes  in  this  country. 

In  general,  and  especially  for  racers,  roadsters,  and  draught- 
horses,  it  is  better  to. keep  the  varieties  distinct,  breeding  each 
in  reference  to  a  standard  or  ideal.  If  experiments  in  crossing 
are  made,  they  should  be  conducted  with  caution,  and  in  such 
a  manner  as  not  to  hazard  a  loss  of  the  valuable  properties  al 
ready  possessed  by  an  established  breed. 


EIGHTEENTH  DAY.— FEB.  21,  1860. 

Mr.  CHARLES  L.  FLINT,  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts 
State  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  author  of  standard  works  on 
"Grasses  and  Forage  Plants,"  and  "Milch  Cows  and  Dairy 
Farming,"  gave,  to-day,  in  his  first  discourse,  a  number  of  val 
uable  hints  to  dairymen,  and  much  information  of  general  in 
terest.  His  lecture  was  listened  to  with  great  attention. 

Mr.  Flint  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  dairy  qualities 
of  our  stock  are  artificial,  and  mainly  the  result  of  care  and 
breeding.  The  cow,  in  her  wild  state,  gives  only  enough  milk 
to  nourish  her  offspring  for  a  short  period,  and  then  goes  dry 
the  rest  of  the  year.  The  prime  object  of  the  farmer  is  to  de 
velop  and  improve  her  milking  qualities,  and  hence  he  should 
select  his  cows  with  reference  to  the  amount  of  food  he  has 
for  them.  Large  animals  require  rich  and  luxuriant  pastures, 
or  they  lose  their  fair  proportions  and  deteriorate  on  a  stinted 
nourishment.  The  objects  of  the  dairyman  should  be  kept  in 


142  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

view  in  selecting  his  cows.  The  animal  most  profitable  for  a 
milk  dairy  may  be  very  unprofitable  for  a  butter  or  cheese 
dairy.  The  first  cattle  imported  into  New  England  arrived  at 
Plymouth  in  1624,  and  they  are  described  as  of  a  variety  of 
colors.  These,  with  the  importations  of  Capt.  John  Mason, 
from  Denmark  into  New  Hampshire,  in  1631-4,  laid  the  foun 
dation  of  the  native  stock  of  New  England ;  and  this  stock 
must  be  regarded  as  an  exceedingly  valuable  foundation  for 
improvement,  which  may  be  effected  either  by  careful  and  ju 
dicious  selections,  or  by  crossing  with  foreign  and  already 
highly  improved  breeds. 

Grades  are  often  more  valuable  for  practical  purposes  on  the 
farm  than  pure  breeds.  In  breeding  it  is  important  to  have  a 
specific  object  in  view,  as  for  beef,  milk,  or  labor — the  complete 
union  of  these  qualities  being,  to  a  considerable  extent,  imprac 
ticable.  Great  milkers  are  rarely  very  handsome  animals. 
They  seldom  have  the  well-rounded  forms  of  fattening  animals, 
but  are  often  coarser  looking  and  more  angular.  In  breeding 
to  produce  large  milkers,  it  is  especially  important  to  select 
males  that  come  from  great  milking  cows — since  the  dairy 
qualities  are  transmitted  more  surely  through  the  male  offspring. 
The  most  celebrated  dairy  breeds  are  the  Swiss,  the  Dutch,  the 
Jersey,  and  the  Ayrshire.  The  Jerseys  give  the  richest  milk, 
and  the  Ayrshires  the  largest  quantity,  in  proportion  to  the 
food  consumed  and  their  size,  and  are  very  valuable  as  a  means 
of  improving  our  common  or  grade  stock.  But,  whatever 
breed  is  selected,  success  will  mainly  depend  on  the  care  and 
management,  and  especially  on  the  food.  VEKY  LITTLE  MILK 

COMES  OUT  OF  THE  BAG  THAT  IS  NOT  FIRST  PUT  INTO  THE  THROAT. 

It  is  poor  economy  to  overstock  the  farm,  as  is  too  often  the 
case :  the  cows  come  out  of  the  stall  in  spring  in  no  condition  for 
the  profitable  production  of  milk.  The  cow  should  be  regarded 
as  an  instrument  of  transformation ;  a  machine  for  the  manufac 
ture  of  milk.  The  food  is  the  raw  material,  milk  the  product 
— salable,  and  always  in  demand.  The  machine  is  the  capital 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  143 

invested,  costing  nearly  as  much  when  not  running  as  when  run 
ning  on  full  steam.  How  absurd,  therefore,  how  unbusinesslike, 
for  the  farmer  to  slacken  up  the  supply  of  raw  material,  or  by 
neglect,  exposure,  or  otherwise,  to  suffer  the  machine  to  get  out 
of  order,  or  to  yield  a  product  far  below  its  natural  capacity. 

Regularity  of  feeding  is  next  in  importance  to  a  full  supply 
of  nutritious  food,  and  cows  thrive  better  on  a  good  and  regu 
lar  system,  than  on  a  larger  amount  fed  at  irregular  intervals. 

Cows  in  milk  ought  not  to  be  exposed  to  cold  in  winter. 
They  require  less  food  and  give  more  milk  if  kept  housed. 
They  ought  not  to  be  even  turned  out  to  water  in  extreme  cold 
days,  and  they  will  be  sure  to  fall  off  in  milk  if  they  are.  The 
loss  from  a  neglect  of  this  precaution  is  often  far  greater  than 
farmers  are  aware  of.  The  cow  should  be  kept  in  a  sound  and 
healthy  condition  by  judicious  feeding  and  exercise,  but  expo 
sure  in  extreme  cold  weather  is  never  advisable.  Moist  and 
succulent  food  increases  the  quantity  of  milk ;  dry  food,  as  hay, 
alone,  makes  a  thicker  quality.  Food  rich  in  starch,  gum, 
sugar,  &c.,  increases  the  butter  in  milk. 

Quietness  also  promotes  the  secretion  of  fat,  and  increases 
the  richness  of  milk.  Green  grass  is  more  nutritious  and  more 
digestible  than  hay,  which,  like  all  other  coarse  and  dry  food, 
is  made  more  nutritious  by  cutting  an<l  moistening,  or  steaming. 
All  ruminating  animals  require  more  or  less  bulky  food,  the 
bulk  contributing  to  the  healthy  activity  of  the  digestive  or 
gans.  The  most  valuable  additions  to  this  branch  of  farming 
[have  been  made  by  the  elaborate  and  successful  experiments  of 
Mr.  Horsfall,  who  found  that  he  could  make  as  much  and  as  rich 
butter  in  winter  as  in  summer.  His  whole  course  of  manage 
ment  has  been  republished  in  this  country  in  the  appendix  to 
the  lecturer's  Treatise  on  Milch  Cows  and  Dairy  Farming. 

Particular  attention  was  called  to  the  management  of  young 
heifers,  and  the  time  when  they  should  be  allowed  to  corne  in, 
as  well  as  to  the  care  which  should  be  taken  to  prevent  any 
faulty  habit  or  constitutional  defect  to  become  fixed  upon  them. 


144  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  a  heifer  should  come  in  in  winter,  or  in 
very  cold  weather,  which  would  prevent  the  distension  of  the 
tissues  of  the  skin,  and  she  should  be  fed  on  dry  food,  which  had 
little  tendency  to  develop  the  milk  vessels,  or  the  organs  of 
secretion.  These  organs  will  adapt  themselves  to  supply  a  small 
yield  of  milk,  and  thus  a  habit  may  be  fixed  upon  the  animal 
for  life,  or  which  it  might  be  difficult  to  overcome  entirely 
afterward.  Hence,  some  of  the  external  signs  of  a  good  milk 
ing  cow  are  found  on  animals  whose  product  does  not  justify 
expectations. 

A  young  cow  with  her  firsf  and  second  calf  should  be  made, 
by  judicious  feeding,  to  give  a  large  quantity,  and  to  hold  out 
well,  and  by  gentle  treatment,  to  be  docile  and  obedient. 

A  certain  shepherd-lecturer  at  a  farm-school  in  Saxony,  illus 
trates  his  lectures  on  breeding  by  presenting  before,  his  class 
sheep  of  various  breeds  and  diverse  qualities.  So  far  as  my 
information  extends,  it  has  never  been  attempted  in  this  coun 
try  before  to-day, — when  Mr.  THEODORE  S.  GOLD  placed  on  the 
stage  a  Cotswold,  a  Merino,  and  a  Southdown.  The  latter 
arrived  a  little  after  the  lecturer  had.  concluded,  but  was  seen 
by  many  then  present.  It  is  a  new,  and  a  most  capital 
idea ;  and  hereafter,  he  who  will  lecture  on  sheep  without  the 
living  illustrations  ready  for  reference,  will  be  behind  the  age. 

The  sheep,  as  Mr.  G.  justly  remarked,  has  been  associated  with 
man  from  the  time  of  Abel,  and  in  some  countries  is  now  the 
chief  national  wealth.  In  Saxony,  not  larger  than  Connecticut 
and  Rhode  Island,  there  are  3,500,000  sheep;  England  and 
Wales  produce  26,000,000 ;  while  in  the  whole  territory  of  the 
United  States  we  raise  only  21,000,000.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  in  the  great  sheep  countries  of  Europe,  farming  has  perhaps 
arrived  at  its  greatest  perfection  of  development — a  circum 
stance  which  should  weigh  well  with  our  farmers,  whose  poor  hilly 
lands  will  barely  keep  them  and  their  families  above  starvation, 
under  the  present  cropping  with  Indian  corn  and  the  cereals. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  145 

The  "  felting"  property  of  wool  is  due  to  the  peculiarly  rough 
or  barbed  character  of  its  outside,  which  causes  it  to  adhere 
together  in  mass,  and  a  woollen  garment  to  shrink  and  become 
thicker  when  washed.  "  Fulling"  is  another  name  for  the  same 
quality ;  "  fulled  cloth"  being  the  name  given  to  the  article 
made  by  subjecting  woollen  cloth  to  the  action  of  water,  and 
pressure  in  a  machine.  By  aid  of  the  microscope,  we  see  that 
the  fibre  of  wool  is  covered  with  a  multitude  of  leaf-like  serra 
tions  (saw-tooth  projections),  pointing  upward  like  the  leaves 
on  a  shoot.  The  curved  form  of  the  wool  fibre  favors  its  felt 
ing,  but  it  is  to  these  million  invisible  hooks  that  we  must  look 
for  an  explanation  of  the  property.  Now,  in  the  finer  grades 
of  wool  there  is  the  greatest  number  of  these  tentatious  hooks 
in  a  given  length,  and  hence  their  superiority  for  close  textured 
and  fine  goods.  This  little  explanation  will  give  our  farmer 
friends  an  insight  into  the  subject  of  breeding  sheep  for  various 
purposes.  The  Merino  is,  above  all,  the  wool-maker  of  fine 
quality.  Leicester  wool  is  famous  in  England  for  combing,  or 
worsted  making,  but  is  much  coarser  than  Merino.  "  Yolk," 
or  "  gum,"  is  the  name  of  a  glutinous  secretion  from  the  skin  of 
the  sheep,  which  coats  and  adheres  to  the  wool.  It  is  a  true 
potash  soap,  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  presence  of  free  animal 
oil  with  which  it  is  mixed,  wool  might  be  washed  without  the 
use  of  soap.  It  is  most  abundant  in  fine-woolled  sheep,  and  is 
more  largely  secreted  in  the  fat  sheep  than  in  a  lean  one. 

It  is  very  desirable  to  grow  sheep  that  will  have  an  equal 
degree  of  fineness  of  wool  over  a  large  portion  of  the  body,  and 
success  in  this  respect  marks  the  good  breeder.  "  Trueness" 
is  a  term  used  to  indicate  the  evenness  of  fibre  in  size  through 
out  its  whole  length.  When  the  sheep,  from  disease  or  want 
of  food,  becomes  poor,  the  wool  fibre  is  rendered  weak  and  al 
most  ceases  to  grow.  When  it  starts  again,  it  breaks  easily  at 
this  weak  point,  being  what  is  termed  "  breachy,"  and  the  wool 
is  called  "  unsound."  Its  value  is  greatly  depreciated  by  this 
circumstance.  Let  those  who  starve  their  sheep  take  the 
7 


146  TALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

hint.  The  best  health  is  obtained  by  neither  over-feeding  nor 
starving. 

The  lecturer  gave  sketches  of  the  various  outlandish  breeds 
of  sheep  found  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  among  which 
were  the  "fat-tailed"  family,  the  "fat-rumped"  sheep  of  Asia, 
the  many-horned  sheep  of  Cyprus  and  Iceland,  the  Siberian, 
Tartarian,  Russian,  and  others.  It  is  not  known  if  the  Merino 
is  a  native  of  Spain.  Beside  that  breed,  there  is  in  Spain  an 
other — a  coarse-woolled,  large  variety,  to  improve  which  a  num 
ber  of  Cotswold  bucks  were  imported  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
Royal  ordinances  in  time  were  passed  favoring  the  improve 
ment  of  the  Merino,  and  great  progress  has  been  made  in  that 
direction.  The  number  of  Merinos  in  Spain  is  estimated  from 
four  millions  upward.  The  native  sheep  of  France  were  coarse, 
ill-formed  animals,  but  in  1786  the  Government  purchased  376 
sheep,  selected  from  the  best  flocks  of  Spain,  and  placed  them 
at  Rambouillet,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris,  where  there  was 
an  establishment  devoted  to  breeding  of  animals.  George  III, 
in  1791,  introduced  the  Merino  into  England ;  but  although 
found  to  improve  in  size  of  carcass  and  in  other  particulars, 
they  had  given  place  to  the  true  English  breeds,  because  found 
less  profitable.  The  "  middle  wools,"  embracing  the  Southdown, 
Norfolk,  Dorset,  Ryland,  Cheviot,  and  others,  are  famous  for 
their  mutton.  The  Cheviots  are  the  most  hardy  sheep  of 
Great  Britain,  among  the  improved  breeds,  and  any  one  who 
would  try  them  in  New  England  would  be  a  public  benefactor. 
They  thrive  on  bleak  hill-sides  and  poor  pastures,  and  their 
meat  is  excellent.  The  Southdown  is  a  native  of  the  chalky 
hills  of  Southern  England,  on  which  grows  a  short,  nutritious 
grass,  well  suited  to  mutton-making.  By  skilful  breeding 
they  have  been  brought  well-nigh  to  perfection  as  regards 
shape,  and  their  meat  is  most  prized,  combining  as  it  does  fat 
ness  with  tender,  lean  meat,  and  having  a  flavor  equal  to  the 
Highland  mutton. 

One  hundred  years  ago,  Mr.  Bakewell,  of  Dishley,  England, 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  147 

undertook  the  improvement  of  the  Leicesters,  and  created  a 
magnificent  family  known  as  the  Bakewell,  or  Dishley  sheep. 
It  was  his  aim  by  careful  selection  and  breeding  to  combine, 
if  possible,  fineness  of  bone,  beauty,  symmetry  of  form,  and 
tendency  to  fatten,  with  weight  of  carcass  and  a  good  yield  of 
wool.  His  success  is  shown  in  the  fact,  that  while  he  let  his 
first  ram  for  17s.  6d.  in  1760,  he  got  in  1789,  for  one  single 
ram,  1,000  guineas,  and  cleared  $30,000  in  that  year  by  letting 
his  rams. 

Beside  the  sheep,  Mr.  Gold  had  samples  of  wool  of  all  breeds, 
which  he  exhibited  to  us,  and  a  number  of  engravings  of  fa 
mous  sheep,  taken  from  various  works. 


NINETEENTH  DAY.— FEB.  22,  1860. 

We  have  had  to-day  a  very  interesting  session,  the  several 
lectures  being  replete  with  good  points,  and  some  of  them  es 
pecially  worthy  of  consideration.  The  lecturers  were,  sever 
ally,  Mr.  FLINT,  on  the  Dairy  Business;  Mr.  GOLD,  on  Sheep, 
and  Professor  SILLIMAX,  Jr. 

Milk,  said  Mr.  Flint,  as  the  first  product  of  the  cow,  is  com 
posed  of  an  oily  substance,  which  gives  it  its  richness ;  of  a  case 
ous,  or  cheesy  substance,  which  gives  it  its  strength ;  and  of  a 
serous,  or  watery  substance,  which  makes  it  refreshing  as  a 
beverage  ;  with  a  small  percentage  of  sugar  of  milk,  to  which  it 
owes  its  sweetness,  and  a  slight  proportion  of  alkaline  substances, 
to  which  are  due  its  medicinal  properties.  Under  the  micro 
scope,  it  appears  to  be  filled  with  myriads  of  little  round  glob 
ules,  which  float  in  the  watery  substance,  and  which  rise  to  the 
surface  in  the  form  of  cream,  the  largest  particles  rising  first, 
and  being  the  richest  in  butter.  These  globules  are  the  butter 
particles,  surrounded  with  a  cheesy  film,  and  the  object  of 
churning  is  to  break  this  film,  or  coating,  and  to  disengage  the 


148  YALE   AGRICULTURAL    LECTURES. 

butter  particles.  The  different  constituents  of  milk  separate  on 
account  of  a  difference  in  specific  gravity.  Milk  will  ordinarily 
produce  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  of  cream,  though  it  is 
sometimes  much  richer  than  this,  and  twenty-five  per  cent,  is 
sometimes,  though  rarely,  obtained.  The  product  in  cream  is 
more  regular  in  several  different  Lots  of  milk  than  the  butter 
product  which  can  be  obtained  from  that  cream.  Caseine  most 
resembles  animal  matter  in  composition  and  in  nutritive  quali 
ties.  The  richest  and  most  delicate  butter  is  made  from  cream 
which  has  not  stood  long  on  the  milk, — the  cream  that  rises 
first  making  a  far  sweeter  and  better  quality  of  butter  than 
that  which  has  stood  a  long  time.  If  the  milk  is  set  in  a  favor 
able  position,  on  shelves  some  feet  from  the  bottom  of  the  milk- 
room,  around  which  a  circulation  of  pure  air  can  be  had,  from 
twelve  to  eighteen  hours,  in  summer,  is  sufficient  to  raise  all 
the  best  of  the  cream ;  and  all  that  rises,  under  ordinary  cir 
cumstances,  after  twenty-four  hours,  will  deteriorate  the  quality 
to  a  greater  extent  than  it  increases  the  quantity.  This  is  an 
important  practical  point,  and  ought  to  lead  to  the  most  care 
ful  experiments  on  the  part  of  dairymen,  who  have  been  accus 
tomed  to  let  their  milk  stand  for  thirty-six  and  even  forty-eight 
hours.  An  ordinary  house-cellar  is  very  rarely  a  suitable  place 
to  set  milk,  and  it  should  never  be  set  on  the  bottom  of  a  cel 
lar,  if  it  is  to  raise  cream.  The  bad  gases  (carbonic  acid,  and 
others,  perhaps,)  in  the  room,  are  near  the  bottom,  and  are  apt 
to  make  the  cream  acrid.  It  will  produce  an  inferior  butter. 
The  square  box-churn  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  economical 
forms.  To  prepare  new  butter-boxes  as  quickly  as  possible,  so 
as  to  make  them  fit  to  use  to  send  butter  in  to  market,  or  to  the 
exhibition,  dissolve  common,  or  bicarbonate  of,  soda  in  boil 
ing  water,  as  much  as  the  wrater  will  dissolve,  taking  water 
enough  to  fill  the  boxes,  and  at  the  rate  of  about  a  pound  of 
soda  for  a  thirty-two  pound  butter-box.  Pour  the  water  in 
upon  it,  and  let  it  stand  over  night,  and  the  box  may  be  used 
the  next  day  without  fear  of  its  tainting  the  butter.  A  delicate 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  149 

bntter  may  be  made  by  burying  the  cream  in  a  cloth  a  foot 
deep  in  the  ground,  and  leaving  it  for  twelve  hours  or  more. 

Cheese  has  been  used  from  a  remote  antiquity.  Its  varieties 
are  almost  infinite.  This  most  important  branch  of  American 
industry,  the  management  of  the  dairy,  involves  the  investment 
of  a  vast  amount  of  capital,  the  aggregate  profits  of  which  de 
pend  largely  upon  individual  judgment  and  skill ;  and  any  addi 
tion,  however  small,  to  the  value  per  pound  of  the  butter  and 
cheese,  would  add  vastly  to  the  material  wealth  of  the  dairy 
man,  and  of  the  country  at  large.  These  articles  are  generally 
the  last  of  either  the  luxuries  or  the  necessaries  of  life,  in  which 
city  customers  are  disposed  to  economize.  They  must  and  will 
have  a  good  article,  and  are  ready  to  pay  for  it  in  proportion 
to  its  goodness. 

The  great  nicety  and  patience  required  to  produce  a  first- 
rate  quality  of  butter  and  cheese,  and  the  gradually-increasing 
aversion  of  our  farmers'  wives  and  daughters  to  manual  labor, 
have  caused,  in  some  districts,  the  butter  and  cheese  dairies  to 
give  place  to  mere  milk  production ;  and  sometimes  low  prices 
and  cost  of  transportation  to  market  have  prevented  the  farmer 
from  realizing  a  profit.  Poor  butter  is  at  all  times  a  drug  in 
the  market,  and  as  the  best  can  only  be  got  by  the  most  care 
ful  painstaking,  Mr.  Flint  suggested  that  by  imitating  the 
"Dairy  Associations,"  or  "fruitieres"  of  the  Swiss  Cantons, 
New  England  farmers  might  largely  increase  their  profits  at 
small  risk.  In  the  Western  Reserve,  there  already  exist  cheese 
manufactories,  or  establishments,  conducted  by  private  indi 
viduals,  for  which  all  the  milk  of  a  large  district  is  curdled  and 
supplied  at  a  stipulated  price.  The  plan  is  said  to  have  proved 
successful,  and  is  found  to  be  a  public  convenience.  That  part 
of  the  Swiss  plan  which  Mr.  Flint  thinks  best  worthy  of  adop 
tion  in  New  England,  is,  to  establish  at  a  central  point,  in  a  vil 
lage  or  neighborhood,  a  dairy  establishment,  under  the  charge 
of  a  thoroughly  skilful  overseer  and  trained  assistants,  supplied 
with  all  manner  of  improved  presses,  vats,  churns,  and  other 


150  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

paraphernalia, — the  completeness  of  the  outfit  being  regulated 
by  the  amount  of  business  to  be  done.  This  might  be  made 
by  a  joint  stock  association,  or  private  individuals ;  the  former 
being  preferable,  for  a  single  proprietor  would  aim  to  get  his 
curd  at  the  lowest  possible  price,  whereas  under  the  joint  stock 
plan  the  cost  of  manufacture  is  lessened  and  the  common  profit 
increased.  The  dairy  furnishes  to  all  subscribers  rennet  of  the 
best  quality,  and  requires  them  to  follow  a  certain  dairy  man 
agement  on  the  farm.  At  regular  intervals  the  wagons  go 
about  to  collect  the  curds,  and  the  farmer  gets  his  pay  either 
for  them,  or  for  the  cheese  sold.  In  like  manner,  the  cream 
could  be  sent  for  conversion  into  butter.  Or  if  skim-milk 
cheese  and  butter  were  both  made,  both  cream  and  curds 
would  be  sent  to  the  central  dairy.  Allowing  the  practica 
bility  of  this  plan,  and  I  can  see  no  great  reasons  to  the  con 
trary,  its  manifest  superiority  is,  I  think,  apparent.  The  dairy 
would  become  so  famous  for  superior  butter  and  cheese,  that 
an  extra  price  could  always  be  obtained  for  them  in  market. 
In-  the  Canton  de  Vaud,  the  butter  made  in  these  dairy  estab 
lishments  actually  commands  in  market  from  one-fifth  to  one- 
sixth  more  per  pound  than  that  made  at  the  small  farms  about; 
and  in  our  country,  where  private  wealth  is  more  evenly  dis 
tributed,  the  difference  would»undoubtedly  be  greater.  Mr. 
Thomas  Mottley,  Jr.,  the  West  Roxbury  breeder,  gets  fifty 
cents  per  pound  for  his  Alderney  butter  in  Boston,  a  fact 
which  sufficiently  shows  that  there  are  plenty  of  persons  ready 
and  willing  to  pay  an  enormous  price  for  a  superior  article. 

The  care  of  sheep  formed  the  subject  of  the  lecture  of  Mr. 
GOLD.  It  should  always  be  the  object  of  the  flock- master  to 
keep  his  sheep  in  a  thriving  condition.  The  quality  of  the 
wool,  as  well  as  its  quantity,  and  the  general  productiveness 
of  the  flock,  demand  this  system. 

Shelter  is  the  first  necessity  in  providing  for  wintering  sheep 
successfully.  The  Southdowns  will  bear  exposure  better  than 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  151 

any  other  class  of  sheep.  The  open  fleece  of  the  long-woolled 
parts  on  the  back  when  wet,  and  admits  the  water,  which  com 
pletely  drenches  the  animal,  so  that  his  abundant  fleece  is  no 
longer  a  protection  from  cold. 

Economy  in  feeding  demands  shelter  for  all  sheep,  as  not 
only  less  food  is  required,  but  also,  it  is  better  preserved  from 
waste.  Water-soaked  hay,  or  that  which  is  in  any  way  soiled,  is 
always  rejected.  The  improvement  in  the  quality  of  the  ma 
nure  forms  another  argument  in  favor  of  shelter.  That  this  is 
not  only  healthful,  but  grateful  to  the  sheep  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  we  see  in  the  fact  that  even,  in  summer  they  will 
seek  their  winter  sheds  at  the  approach  of  a  storm,  if  they  are 
within  their  reach. 

Ventilation  is  of  paramount  importance,  as  connected  with 
shelter ;  and  to  insure  this,  sheds,  open  to  the  south,  are  to  be 
preferred.  A  stable  with  an  open  window  will  answer  for  a 
very  small  number,  but  the  crowding  of  a  large  flock  in  such 
a  place  affects  the  organs  of  respiration,  and  may  result  in  se 
rious  disease,  and  should  never  be  tolerated. 

The  best  form  of  rack  has  posts  three  feet  high  in  the  cor 
ners,  a  bottom  of  boards,  the  sides  and  ends  of  two  boards 
each,  the  lower  one  the  widest,  with  narrow  perpendicular 
strips  nailed  on,  to  keep  the  stronger  sheep  from  crowding  the 
weaker.  The  spaces  are  larger  in  their  perpendicular  than  their 
horizontal  opening.  The  size  of  these,  as  well  as  the  width  of 
the  rack,  must  be  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  sheep.  Not 
more  than  one  hundred  of  the  fine-woolled  sheep  should  be  con 
fined  in  the  same  yard,  while  the  long-woolled  will  not  thrive 
with  more  than  twenty-five.  A  hospital^  snug  and  comfortable, 
should  receive  any  sheep  that  may  be  weak  from,  age  or  disease, 
till,  by  careful  feeding  and  nursing,  they  can  be  returned  to  the 
flock. 

It  is  the  worst  possible  practice  to  allow  the  sheep  to  fall 
away  in  flesh  as  the  grass  fails  in  autumn.  The  increasing 
wool  conceals  the  shrinking  carcass,  much  to  the  disappoint- 
5* 


152  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

ment  of  the  careless  flockmasters.  Better  confine  them  in  the 
yard  than  allow  them  to  ramble  about  in  search  of  some  field 
of  winter  grain,  which  furnishes  a  little  green  food,  but  too 
light  to  be  of  any  real  value. 

Winter  fodder  should  embrace,  in  addition  to  the  dry  food, 
n,  due  proportion  of  that  which  is  green  and  succulent.  Fine 
early  cut  clover  hay,  well  cured,  or  that  from  old  meadows, 
consisting  of  a  variety  of  grasses,  forms  the  best  dry  fodder. 
Economy  demands  that  its  quality  should  be  good,  else  much 
waste  ensues ;  yet  the  sheep  is  very  fond  of  variety,  and  almost 
all  of  the  so-called  weeds  become  choice  morsels.  The  botan 
ist  knows  full  well  that  a  sheep-range  will  be  most  barren  of 
the  objects  of  his  search.  The  immortal  LinnaBus  tested  the 
plants  indigenous  to  Sweden  by  offering  them,  fresh  gathered, 
to  the  various  domesticated  animals. 

Horses  ate  262  species,  and  rejected  212;  cattle  ate  276  spe 
cies,  and  refused  218,  while  sheep  took  readily  387,  and  refused 
only  141  species.  For  fattening,  add  to  the  hay,  roots,  and 
grain,  linseed  or  cotten-seed  meal.  The  English  system  of  winter 
feeding  on  turnips  in  the  field  is  here  prevented  by  excessive 
cold.  Use  them  in  the  yards  in  moderate  weather.  Sudden 
changes  from  green  to  dry  food,  and  the  reverse  should  be 
avoided.  Regularity  in  the  hours  of  feeding  is  very  impor 
tant. 

The  amount  of  fodder  varies  with  the  kind  of  sheep,  though 
it  is  not  directly  proportioned  to  the  live  weight.  Ten  small 
fme-wroolled  sheep  will  eat  as  much  as  a  cow,  the  larger  ones 
requiring  more.  2  to  2^  or  even  3£  per  cent,  of  the  live  weight 
in  hay  value,  is  estimated  by  different  authors  as  daily  required. 

No  other  animals  except  calves  should  lie  in  the  yards  with 
sheep.  The  losses  from  the  horns  of  steers  and  the  heels  of 
colts  more  than  balance  any  supposed  gain.  As  the  breathing 
of  the  sheep  on  the  hay  does  not  of  itself  render  it  distasteful 
to  cattle,  it  may  be  gathered  from  the  racks  and  fed  in  another 
enclosure. 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  153 

It  is  estimated  that  300  pounds  of  good  hay  will  winter  a 
small  sheep,  while  larger  ones  may  take  three  times  the  amount. 

Water  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  thrift  of  sheep  in  the 
winter.  It  is  best  brought  into  the  yards,  as  the  steep  banks 
of  streams  prove  dangerous  to  the  sheep. 

Salt  may  be  provided  in  winter  by  a  moderate  salting  of 
the  hay  two  to  four  quarts  a  ton ;  but  excessive  salting  must 
be  avoided,  as  on  such  neither  sheep  nor  cattle  will  thrive. 

As  the  lambing  season  approaches,  snug  quarters  must  be 
provided  for  the  breeding  ewes,  where  they  can  be  clean,  warm, 
and  dry.  They  will  seek  the  necessary  seclusion  in  the  open  field. 

The  increase  from  a  flock  of  Merino  or  Saxony  ewes,  which 
rarely  twin,  may  be  from  80  to  100  per  cent.,  while  in  the  South 
down  or  Cotswold,  150  per  cent.,  or  even  more  may  be  raised. 

Little  can  be  hoped  from  legislative  action  as  a  protection 
from  dogs.  Bells  attached  to  the  necks  of  a  few  sheep  in  each 
flock  deter  the  cowardly  curs,  or  give  warning  of  their  attacks. 

Sheep  washing,  shearing,  and  rolling  the  wool  demand  care 
ful  attention.  Diseases  come  mostly  from  carelessness,  and 
prevention  must  be  our  resource.  The  age  of  the  sheep  is  de 
termined  by  the  teeth,  but  such  irregularities  arise  in  these  as 
well  as  in  other  animals,  that  the  Connecticut  State  Agricultural 
Society  have  decided  to  receive  satisfactory  testimony  as  to  the 
age  of  any  animal,  rather  than  to  depend  on  the  indications 
of  the  teeth. 

Of  the  three  breeds  on  the  stage,  for  the  food  consumed, 
the  Merinos  yield  the  most  wool,  the  Cotswolds  the  most  mut 
ton,  and  the  Southdowns  mutton  of  the  best  quality. 

The  celebrated  experiment  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert  in  England 
on  50  sheep,  of  each  of  the  most  celebrated  British  breeds,  proves 
the  Cotswold  as  giving  for  the  food  the  most  wool  and  mutton ; 
the  Southdown  the  least;  yet,  sold  in  Smithfield,  the  South 
down  brought  three  cents  per  pound  the  most,  so  that  the  re 
sults  as  to  profit  were  equal. 

The  Southdown  is  eminently  fitted  for  the  light  lands  of  New 
7* 


154  YALE  AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

England ;  and  when  sheep  husbandry  shall  have  attained  its 
proper  place,  it  will  be  found  as  a  chief  instrument  in  that  result, 
and  their  flocks  will  cover  a  thousand  hills. 

Prof.  B.  SILLIMAN,  JB.'S  second  lecture  on  Meteorology  was 
devoted  to  a  description  of  the  barometer,  in  its  various  forms, 
and  the  practical  rules  derived  from  its  observation,  applicable 
to  the  business  of  agriculture. 

He  first  illustrated  experimentally  the  discovery  of  the  ba 
rometer,  by  Torricelli,  in  1643.  By  means  of  an  air-pump  and 
two  barometers,  one  in  and  the  other  out  of  the  vacuum,  he 
illustrated  the  influence  of  the  atmospheric  presence  at  the 
height  of  the  mercurial  column. 

The  model  of  the  mercury  barometer,  made  by  Green,  of  New 
York,  after  the  directions  of  Prof.  Guyot,  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  was  exhibited,  as  well  as  other  forms  of  this  instru 
ment. 

He  alluded  to  the  practical  objections  to  the  mercurial  ba 
rometer  as  an  instrument  for  general  use — its  cost,  if  well  made, 
and  its  unavoidable  delicacy  and  fragility, — which  must  always 
act  as  a  bar  to  its  general  use  by  the  farmer. 

Fortunately  we  had,  in  the  "  aneroid  "  barometer,  an  instru 
ment  free  from  these  objections.  Sufficiently  cheap,  not  liable 
to  be  disordered  easily,  and  withal  sensitive  and  accurate 
enough  for  the  use  which  is  made  of  the  barometer  as  a 
"  weather  prophet?"1  He  proceeded  to  give  a  popular  descrip 
tion  of  the  essential  features  of  the  aneroid  barometer  (or  ba 
rometer  "  without  a  fluid,"  as  the  term  implies).  This  instrument 
was  invented  by  Mr.  Vidi,  of  Paris  ;  it  is  without  mercury,  and 
consists  of  a  flat  and  circular  metallic  box,  the  cover  of  which 
is  very  thin  and  corrugated,  or  in  ridges  and  furrows,  concentric 
with  the  walls.  The  air  is  exhausted  from  this  box,  which  is 
then  hermetically  sealed.  The  result  is,  that  the  elastic  cover 
rises  and  falls  with  every  change  in  atmospheric  pressure.  By 
means  of  a  combination  of  levers  and  springs,  these  move- 


YALE    AGRICULTURAL    LECTURES.  155 

• 

ments  are  communicated  from  the  centre  of  the  cover  to  a 
pointer  which  moves  over  the  graduated  face  of  a  card,  on 
which  inches  and  hundredths  are  inscribed.  The  whole  apparatus 
is  encased  in  a  brass  box,  about  four  inches  in  diameter  and 
two  inches  deep,  covered  with  a  front  glass,  and  resembling  in 
general  appearance  a  chronometer  case. 

These  instruments  are  now  made  by  Mr.  E.  Kendall,  of  New 
Lebanon  Spa,  N.  Y.,  well  known  everywhere  for  his  mercurial 
thermometers.  His  instruments  compare  well  with  the  French, 
and  with  the  movements  of  the  mercurial  barometer,  and  sell 
for  the  moderate  price  of  ten  dollars,  or  one-third  the  cost  of  a 
Smithsonian  barometer.  Although  for  purposes  of  scientific 
accuracy  nothing  can  replace  the  old  form  of  mercurial  ba 
rometer,  Prof.  Silliman  did  not  hesitate  to  recommend  the 
aneroid  as  the  best  barometer  for  the  use  of  the  farmer. 
Numerous  testimonials,  from  farmers  who  had  used  them, 
showed  their  utility  in  enabling  the  farmer  to  choose  the  time 
of  cutting  and  curing  his  hay,  planting,  &c. 

Prof.  Silliman  explained  why  the  words  "  fair,"  "  change 
able,"  "  foul,"  "  tempest,"  &c.,  <fcc.,  written  on  the  scale  of  the 
cheap  forms  of  mercury  barometers  were  entirely  unreliable. 
It  was  only  at  the  sea  level  that  the  barometer  stood  at  an 
average  height  of  thirty  inches,  and  hence  a  mere  change  of 
place,  rising  a  few  hundred  feet,  would  make  the  barometer 
fall  permanently  below  ''''fair  weather,"  whatever  the  face  of 
the  sky  might  say  to  the  contrary.  That  the  use  of  the  barom 
eter  might  be  better  understood,  he  enumerated  the  follow-* 
ing  general  rules,  which  embody  the  results  of  long  and  various 
experience  in  different  places  : 

1.  When  the  mercury  is  very  low,  high  winds  and  storms 
are  likely  to  prevail. 

2.  Generally  the  rising  of  the  mercury  indicates  the  approach 
of  fair  weather ;  the  falling  of  it  shows  the  approach  of  foul 
weather. 

3.  In  sultry  weather  the  falling  of  the  inercury  indicates 


156  YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

• 

coming  thunder.  In  winter,  the  rise  of  mercury  indicates 
frost.  In  frosty  weather,  its  fall  indicates  thaw,  and  its  rise 
indicates  snow. 

4.  Whatever  change  of  weather  suddenly  follows  a  change 
in  the  barometer,  may  be  expected  to  last  but  a  short  time. 

5.  When  the  barometer  alters  slowly,  a  long  succession  of 
foul  weather  will  succeed  if  the  column  falls,  or  of  fair  weather 
if  the  column  rises. 

6.  A  fluctuating  and  unsettled  state  in  the  mercurial  column 
indicates  changeable  weather. 

In  these  rules,  the  "  index  of  the  aneroid  "  may  take  the 
place  of  "  the  mercury  column." 

Prof.  Silliman  called  to  witness  the  experience  of  Mr.  Jos. 
Lesley,  Jr.,  of  Phila.,  one  of  the  class  who  had,  as  a  topographi 
cal  engineer,  made  great  use  of  the  aneroid  as  a  levelling 
instrument.  This  gentleman  stated  that  he  had  used  this 
instrument  during  the  whole  season  in  determining  contour 
lines  over  hundreds  of  miles  of  broken  country,  and  had  found, 
on  calculating  his  lines  at  the  end  of  the  season,  the  differences 
quite  inconsiderable.  He  was  disposed  to  rank  the  aneroid,  as 
an  instrument  for  scientific  uses,  higher  than  Prof.  Silliman  had 
placed  it,  but  stated  it  was  important  to  apply  always  a  cor 
rection  for  temperature — a  sort  of  "  personal  equation,"  varying 
for  each  instrument. 

Prof.  Silliman  concluded  by  quoting  still  farther  some  of  the 
general  conclusions  of  Prof.  Henry,  Prof.  Coffin,  Mr.  Espy, 
^and  others,  as  embodied  in  the  Agricultural  Reports  of  the 
Patent  Office  and  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  He  strongly 
advised  the  class  to  study  the  articles  on  meteorology,  contain 
ed  in  the  documents  for  the  years  1856  to  1860,  as  being  far 
the  most  reliable  of  anything  hitherto  within  the  reach  of  the 
general  reader. 

In  the  evening  there  was  delivered  a  lecture  by  CASSIUS  M. 
CLAY,  on  stock  and  stock-breeding. 

Mr.  Clay's  first  lecture  was  given  in  the  Baptist  church, 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  157 

to  an  audience  of  several  hundred  persons.  He  commenced 
by  stating  that  he  had  come  here  as  a  progressive  farmer,  to 
lend  his  aid  and  influence  to  a  movement  which  he  deemed  of 
great  importance,  and  the  necessity  for  which  he  had  for 
years  appreciated.  We  hear  it  said  on  every  hand,  and 
especially  by  politicians,  that  farming  is  a  respectable  business ; 
but  he  thought  that  no  amount  of  honeyed  phrases  or  plausible 
talk  would  make  any  calling  respectable.  Agriculturists  were 
ahead  of  most  others  in  moral  and  physical  developments.  If 
farmers  would  be  really  respected,  they  must  refine  and  culti 
vate  themselves  into  respectability,  and  not  wait  for  it  to  be 
done  by  others.  They  must  carry  their  capital  into  the 
country,  and  use  it  judiciously  in  advancing  their  farm  practice. 
Taste  should  be  cultivated  ;  and  rural  architecture,  landscape 
gardening,  and  other  things  which  render  a  country  attractive, 
should  especially  be  fostered.  To  further  this  great  object 
this  Convention  had  been  called,  thanks  to  the  sagacity  and 
enterprise  of  Prof.  Porter ;  and  although  it  would  have  been 
perhaps  more  convenient  to  him  (Mr.  Clay)  if  it  had  held  its 
session  in  Kentucky,  yet,  it  being  in  Connecticut,  he  was  will 
ing  to  come  hither,  for  what  tended  to  promote  the  advance 
ment  of  New  England  farming  was  as  dear  to  his  heart  as  if 
it  were  especially  pointed  at  Kentucky  interests.  It  is  the 
sheerest  madness  for  farmers  to  drain  the  heart  of  their  farms 
and  invest  their  funds  in  stocks  and  bonds,  for  the  application  of 
capital  to  farm  improvements  would  give  as  large  comparative 
profit  as  it  would  in  any  other  business.  The  introduction  of 
better  classes  of  farm  stock,  Mr.  Allen  had  told  us,  would  add 
from  forty  to  sixty  millions  of  dollars  annually  to  our  wealth.  If 
we  took  this  sum  for  a  few  years  and  applied  it  to  farm  improve 
ment,  what  magnificent  results  would  be  attained !  Through 
the  interior  of  Kentucky  the  farmers  were  so  sensible  of  the 
profit  derivable  from  improved  stock,  that  they  would  no 
longer  purchase  common  scrubs  at  any  price,  nor  even  give 
them  standing  room  on  their  farms.  For  they  had  found,  and 


158  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

others  would  find,  that  to  purchase  them  at  any  price  was  in 
the  long  run  poor  economy. 

He  would  not  attempt  to  describe  all  the  multifarious  breeds 
of  cattle  in  the  civilized  world,  but  would  confine  his  remarks 
to  the  five  leading  British  breeds — the  Alderney  or  Jersey, 
the  Ayrshire,  the  Devon,  the  Hereford,  and  the  Shorthorn. 
In  size  and  weight  the  Alderney  is  the  smallest ;  it  is  supposed 
to  have  come  from  Normandy,  but  has  been  improved  in  the 
Channel  Islands,  and  is  greatly  superior  to  what  it  formerly 
was.  It  is  a  picturesque-looking  animal  in  appearance,  rather 
than  a  strictly  beautiful  one.  Those  which  he  had  seen  were 
mostly  ewe-necked,  sway-backed,  high  in  the  withers,  full 
bellied,  and  narrow  in  the  girth.  But  he  understood  that  by 
skilful  breeding  there  had  been  many  individuals  of  the  breed 
made  up  to  a  symmetry  and  development  quite  creditable. 
The  Alderney,  he  conceded,  gives  the  richest  of  all  milks,  but 
little  in  quantity.  Taken  to  the  country,  it  was  an  active 
animal,  capable  of  getting  a  living  on  scanty  pastures.  It  will 
thrive  in  some  degree  almost  anywhere  with  us,  but  undoubt 
edly  does  best  in  districts  which  are  the  same  isothermally  as 
its  native  land. 

The  Devons  are  supposed  to  have  been  brought  to  England 
with  the  Celts,  and  are,  perhaps,  rightly  regarded  as  the  oldest 
breed  of  the  British  Isles.  They  are  mostly  a  dark  red,  with 
close,  fine  curly  hair.  They  are  a  degree  larger  than  the 
Alderney,  are  heavy  in  the  head  and  horn,  do  not  carry  out 
the  rump  well,  but  are  a  very  good  animal  withal.  They  give 
rather  more  milk  than  the  Alderney,  and  of  almost  as  rich  a 
quality.  They  are  not  very  heavy  in  the  brisket,  and,  being 
narrow  between  the  shoulders,  are  enabled  to  move  briskly, 
and  are  thus  adapted  to  working  under  the  yoke,  although 
rather  light  for  heavy  draft — and  hence  they  have  been  improv 
ed  by  a  cross  of  the  Shorthorn  for  oxen.  The  Longhorns 
have  been  tried  in  Kentucky,  but  abandoned,  for  they  did  not 
prove  either  famous  milkers  or  feeders.  The  Devon  is  too 


YALE  AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES.  159 

small  for  Kentucky,  and  for  other  districts  like  it  where  there 
is  abundance  of  heavy,  rich  pasturage.  They  do  not  aim  at 
getting  single  famous  milkers  in  his  State,  for  they  keep  many 
animals,  and  a  little  milk  from  several  is  fully  adequate  to  their 
purpose,  beef  being  the  great  end. 

The  Hereford  he  does  not  deem  an  original  breed,  for  they 
were  formerly  of  a  dun  and  dark  color,  and  are  now  white  faced 
and  throated ;  a  peculiarity  which  he  thought  owing  to  a  cross 
with  the  Glamorgans,  and  not  the  Somersets.  Their  greatest 
inferiority  was  that  they  were  miserable  milkers ;  a  very  bad 
fault,  for  there  are  doubtless  a  thousand  persons  who  wish  a 
milking  animal  to  one  who  wants  to  make  beef.  The  Hereford, 
as  compared  with  the  Shorthorn,  is  coarser  in  the  shoulder  and 
thicker  in  the  hide,  beside  wanting  that  general  symmetry 
which  characterizes  their  great  rivals.  A  good  handling  qual 
ity  of  hide  is  highly  prized  by  the  butcher,  for  a  mellow,  spongy 
skin  indicates  a  good  quality  of  beef,  and  that  well  "marbled." 
In  this  important  feature  he  had  found  the  Hereford  deficient. 
He  was  aware  that  this  breed  is  a  favorite  with  butchers,  but 
thought  it  greatly  due  to  the  fact  that  it  lays  on  its  fat  in 
patches  on  the  inside  of  the  carcass,  and  thus  goes  in  the  "  fifth 
quarter"  as  the  butcher's  perquisite. 

The  Shorthorn  he  deems  an  original,  and  not,  as  popularly 
supposed,  a  created  breed.  They  vary  much,  it  is  true,  in 
color,  but  these  variations  are  well  defined,  and  evermore  re 
peated.  He  had  never  seen  a  real  Shorthorn  without  some 
patch  of  white  on  it.  The  physiognomy  of  the  race  is  the  same 
as  in  olden  times ;  a  fact  which  he  thought  demonstrated  in  their 
resemblance  at  this  day  to  the  outline  of  an  old  Shorthorn 
cow  sculptured  centuries  ago  upon  a  marble  slab  in  an  old 
church  at  Durham.  The  Shorthorn  has  not  only  perfection 
of  form,  but  size,  fattening  properties,  and  milking  qualities 
as  well.  In  England,  Scotland,  and  this  country,  any  dairy 
which  is  famous  will  generally  be  composed  of  Shorthorns, 
either  thoroughbred  or  grades.  We  may  breed  out  the  milk- 


160  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

ing  quality,  but  we  may  on  the  other  hand  develop  it  to  a  great 
extent  by  careful  breeding  from  milking  families.  He  has  had 
an  animal  give  thirty-two  quarts  of  milk  daily ; — the  Shakers 
of  Kentucky  report  one  giving  forty  quarts  n  day — and  he  be 
lieved  the  breed  will  make  more  butter  and  cheese  than  any 
other.  In  early  maturity  they  are  unrivalled.  At  two  years 
old  they  have  been  sent  from  Kentucky  to  the  New  York  market 
in  prime  condition,  though  three  and  upwards  is  the  usual  age. 

He  was  not  of  those  who  admitted  that  the  improved  Short 
horn  family  had  been  created  by  Charles  and  Robert  Colling, 
for  Colling  himself  admitted  that  he  had  bought  fine  animals 
wherever  he  could  find  them  before  he  began  to  breed  for  him 
self,  and  Phoenix  and  Lady  Maynard  were  as  fine  animals  as  he 
ever  bred.  He  had  bred  judiciously,  and  improved  the  breed 
in  extent,  but  its  origin  must  be  sought  prior  to  the  days  of 
Charles  Colling's  Hubback.  Perhaps  it  may  not  be  advisable 
to  use  them  in  New  England  to  the  exclusion  of  other  cattle  ; 
but  throughout  the  whole  interior  of  this  country,  where  the 
climate  is  fair  and  the  pasturage  good,  they  would,  as  they  had 
in  Kentucky  already,  run  out  any  other  of  the  leading  breeds 
which  might  be  placed  in  competition  with  them. 

The  Ayrshire  is  essentially  a  modern  breed.  At  least  there 
was  no  such  breed  famous  in  Ayr  a  hundred  years  ago  ;  and  he 
was  of  the  impression  that  it  had  originated  in  a  cross  of  the 
Shorthorn  with  the  West  Highlanders.  It  has  many  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  Shorthorn ;  is,  next  to  it,  the  heaviest 
feeder  ;  and  its  great  milking  properties  he  thinks  due  to  that 
part  of  its  parentage.  Carried  to  poorer  pastures  in  England 
and  elsewhere,  the  Ayrshire  does  not  thrive  as  well  as  on  its 
native  fields.  Some  public-spirited  farmers  in  Kentucky  have 
recently  imported  some  of  the  breed,  and  will  give  it  another 
fair  trial ;  but  Mr.  Clay  believes  the  same  unfavorable  result 
will  follow  as  has  heretofore. 

Mr.  Clay  claimed  that  his  favorite  breed  possessed  all  the 
essential  points  of  true  beauty.  Beauty,  he  thought,  was  com- 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  161 

I 

posed  of  five  elements.  1st,  Propriety:  that  is,  the  adaptation 
of  means  to  an  end.  The  full  impression  of  beauty  is  never  con 
veyed  to  the  cultivated  mind  if  the  eye  is  shocked  at  seeing  an 
unsuitableness  of  form  to  the  purpose  in  view.  2d,  The  ellip 
tical  line,  or  the  oval.  We  make  our  picture-frames  oval  be 
cause  that  is  the  most  beautiful  shape,  and  so  do  we  our  plats 
of  grass  and  the  leading  features  of  a  landscape  garden,  while 
the  female  face  is  never  absolutely  faultless  unless  it  presents 
the  oval  form  when  viewed  in  front.  The  Greeks  made  the 
face  oval  in  the  Venus,  but  fuller  in  the  forehead  in  the  Miner 
va  and  Jupiter.  3d,  Color.  The  brightest  gems  are  the  best, 
and  the  greatest  luxuriance  of  tints  is  lavished  by  nature, 
where  she  makes  her  loveliest  handiwork.  4th,  Smoothness  of 
surface.  The  angular  form  is  not  admissible  in  a  connection 
with  the  beautiful ;  and  roughness  is  merely  angularity  infinite 
ly  multiplied.  5th,  Proportion,  or  the  harmonious  arrange 
ment  of  parts.  All  these  qualities  he*  thought  combined  in  the 
perfected  Shorthorn  of  our  time  ;  and  we  are  bound  to  respect 
the  beautiful,  for  we  spend  at  least  ten  times  as  much  for  it  as 
we  do  for  the  purely  utilitarian. 

Mr.  Clay  illustrated  his  remarks  with  the  aid  of  a  large  paint 
ed  sketch  of  one  of  his  Shorthorn  cows,  which  was  suspended 
at  the  back  of  the  platform.  He  was  loudly  applauded  on 
resuming  his  seat,  as  also  was  the  announcement  by  Prof.  Por 
ter  that  the  second  lecture  would  be  given  to-morrow  morn 
ing. 

Mr.  Clay  being  limited  to  one  hour  and  a  quarter,  by  agree 
ment  with  other  lecturers,  did  not  go  as  fully  into  the  descrip 
tion  of  the  several  breeds  as  he  had  desired. 


162  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

TWENTIETH  DAY. -FEB.  23,  1860. 

To-day  two  lectures  on  stock-breeding  were  given,  one  by 
Mr.  ALLEN,  the  other  by  CASSIUS  M.  CLAY.  There  was  no 
great  diversity  of  opinion  between  the  two  breeders  as  to  the 
broad,  fundamental  laws  of  the  art ;  so  that  while  I  am  debarred 
from  giving  sketches  of  both  lectures,  their  substance  can  be 
as  well  condensed  into  one. 

Mr.  Allen  read  a  letter  from  Mr.  John  T.  Norton,  the  famous 
Jersey  breeder,  of  Farmington,  Ct.,  which  embodies  so  much 
valuable  information,  that  I  cannot  refrain  from  publishing  it 
in  this  connection.  Mr.  Norton  says : 

"The  pure  Alderney  cattle  come  mostly  from  the  Island  of 
Jersey,  in  the  British  Channel,  where  they  have  been  kept  free 
from  mixture  for  a  hundred  years, — no  other  breeds  being  al 
lowed  on  the  island.  Similar  cattle  are  found  on  the  other 
Channel  Islands;  but  all  more  or  less  mixed  with  other  breeds. 
About  two  thousand  head  of  cows  and  heifers  are  annually 
sold  from  the  island,  the  area  of  wrhich  is  not  much  greater 
than  that  of  one  of  our  largest  New  England  towns,  at  an  aver 
age  of  £5  sterling  each,  making  £100,000  sterling,  or  $500,000, 
from  this  source  alone. 

"The  Alderney  cows  are  small  and  thin,  with  delicate  deer- 
like  limbs — generally  light  yellow  or  fawn  color — always  poor 
in  flesh  when  in  milk,  but  taking  fat  readily  when  dry.  They 
are  remarkable  for  gentleness  and  docility — easily  kept,  and 
usually  give  milk  nearly  up  to  the  time  of  calving. 

"The  important  question  in  relation  to  these  cows  is  their 
value  compared  with  other  breeds.  It  will  be  conceded  at  once 
that  for  fattening^  for  labor,  and  for  furnishing  milk  for  sale, 
they  are  inferior  to  almost  all  other  breeds. 

"In  Great  Britain  they  are  kept  mostly  by  the  wealthy,  to 
supply  their  own  tables  with  milk,  cream,  and  butter.  Colman 
says:  4 Every  nobleman  and  large  land-owner  keeps  one  or  more 
tethered  on  his  lawn,  for  family  use.'  They  are  also  kept  by 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  163 

many  London  dairymen  in  the  proportion  of  one  Alderney  to 
ten  other  cows,  to  color  the  milk  for  market. 

"  My  own  experience,  after  many  years,  has  led  me  to  the 
conclusion  that  for  butter-making  they  are  superior  to  any 
others,  yielding  more  in  quantity  and  of  better  quality. 

"In  all  other  breeds,  and  also  among  grades,  superior  milkers 
and  butter-makers  may  be  found,  equalling  in  quality  of  but 
ter,  and  giving  more  milk,  and  producing  more  butter,  than 
most  Alderneys.  But  there  is  no  other  breed  known  here  that 
can  always  be  relied  on.  I  have  never  known  an  Alderney 
cow  whose  milk  and  butter  had  not  the  characteristics  of  the 
breed.  They  differ,  as  do  others,  in  quantity,  and  somewhat 
in  quality ;  but  the  peculiar  color  and  quality  are  manifest  in 
all. 

"The  daily  yield  of  milk  of  each  cow,  during  their  best  milking 
period,  varies  from  six  to  twelve  quarts.  This  milk  will  make 
about  one  pound  of  butter  to  six  quarts  of  milk.  One  pound 
from  twelve  quarts  is  not  far  from  the  average  yield  from  other 
breeds. 

'•The  average  product  of  butter  from  my  cows  in  1859,  was 
a  fraction  over  two  hundred  pounds  each.  The  average  pro 
duct  of  the  dairies  of  the  State  of  New  York,  I  think,  is  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  to  each  cow. 

"The  premiums  by  the  New  York  State  Society  for  the 
greatest  product,  have  been  given  to  dairies  producing  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  each  cow. 

"My  cows  have  had  no  extra  feed.  In  summer  they  are 
kept  on  grass  only.  In  winter  they  have  one  feed  daily  of  cut 
corn-stalks,  straw,  or  coarse  hay,  with  a  slight  sprinkling  of 
bran,  or  cotton-seed  meal,  and  two  feeds  of  dry  hay. 

"The  average  price  for  which  my  butter  sold  in  1859,  was 
thirty-five  cents.  The  price  now  is  forty  cents.  In  March 
and  April,  it  is  to  be  forty-three  cents,  by  contract,  in  Boston. 

"In  relation  to  any  improvement  in  the  stock,  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  none  can  be  made  by  crossing  with  any  known 


164  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

breed.  Increase  in  size,  or  an  increased  disposition  to  fatten, 
will  be  gained  only  at  the  expense  of  a  loss  in  cream  and  butter. 
"An  analysis  of  numerous  specimens  of  milk  made  in  1858  by 
Dr.  S.  R.  Percy,  under  the  direction  of  the  New  York  Acade 
my  of  Medicine,  resulted  as  follows,  viz. :  The  milk  from  six 
of  my  Alderneys,  taken  indiscriminately,  exhibited  butter  com 
pared  with  the  best  other  milk,  as  seventy-two  to  forty-seven, 
and  compared  with  mixed  country  milk,  as  seventy-two  to 
forty. 

"  I  am  yours,  very  respectfully, 

"JOHN  T.  NORTON." 

Mr.  CLAY  commenced  his  second  lecture  on  Cattle  Breed 
ing  by  pointing  out,  on  the  large  sketch  of  a  cow,  the  several 
good  and  bad  points  of  the  improved  Shorthorn.  There  should 
be  no  surplus  meat  about  the  head,  for  it  is  all  waste,  or  nearly 
so,  and  it  consumes  a  quantity  of  food  in  being  created  which 
might  be  more  profitably  employed.  A  large  dewlap,  being 
poor  for  meat,  and  the  skin  inferior  for  leather,  and  a  useless 
deformity,  should  be  avoided.  A  straight  spine  indicates  a  state 
of  health,  as  well  as  fine  beef.  Whenever  an  animal  is  too  closely 
bred,  or  suffers  in  health,  the  spine  droops,  and  the  animal  is  call 
ed  "sway-backed."  The  girth  should  be  as  large  as  possible,  for 
just  under  and  behind  the  shoulders  are  located  the  vital  parts 
— the  heart,  lungs,  &c.,  and  ample  space  should  be  given  to 
them  for  full  development.  Without  this  there  can  never  be 
the  perfection  of  vigorous  growth  and  hardiness  of  constitu 
tion.  The  ribs  should  be  joined  to  the  spine  at,  or  near,  a 
right  angle,  should  spring  well  outward,  and  drop  well  down 
toward  the  belly, — that  there  may  be  capaciousness  of  carcass 
to  hold  the  viscera  and  food.  The  rump  should  be  long  to 
hold  fine  meat,  and  a  long  stretch  from  hip-bone  to  hock  is  nec 
essary  to  give  powerful  leverage  to  working-oxen.  A  large 
brisket,  projecting  forward,  and  dropping  below  the  line  of  the 
belly,  he  does  not  like,  but  rather  aims  at  getting  one  of  medi- 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  165 

um  size,  which  indicates  a  strong  constitution.  A  too  large 
one  is  a  deformity,  a  too  small  one  a  sign  of  weakness ;  it  is 
but  a  wall  for  the  chest.  When  too  large,  it  forces  the  animal 
to  turn  slowly,  like  a  long  ship,  and  makes  rapid  motion  diffi 
cult.  Breadth  of  chest  is  to  be  sought  after,  for  manifest  rea 
sons.  The  flank  should  drop  well  down,  not  so  much  for  the 
profit  it  gives  as  to  preserve  a  general  symmetry  of  form.  The 
beast  should  be  well  ribbed  back.  That  is  to  say,  there  should 
be  little  space  between  the  last  of  the  short  ribs  and  the  hip 
bone.  If  an  animal  is  too  long  in  body,  it  is  apt  to  sway,  or 
sink  in  the  back,  on  the  same  principle  as  a  long  rope  stretched 
from  two  points  sinks  at  the  centre.  The  feet  and  legs  should 
be  small,  though  not  weak.  The  shin-bones  make  fine  soup. 
In  Kentucky,  they  esteem  as  peculiarly  delicious  a  part  which 
we  throw  away,  viz.,  the  feet.  They  first  parboil  them  until 
well  cooked,  when  the  hoofs  come  off.  They  are  cooled,  and 
then  reboiled,  and  before  being  served  up,  cream  is  added,  with 
chopped  onions,  and  some  pepper  and  salt.  Mr.  Clay  said  he 
would  travel  further  to  get  a  dish  of  feet  than  a  bowl  of  green 
turtle  soup.  I  think  we  had  better  get  our  wives  to  try  it. 

The  loin  should  be  broad  and  full — here  is  the  prime  beef. 
The  tail  set  on  a  level  with  the  back,  and  large — falling  from 
well  back,  and  tapering  to  the  joint.  The  perfection  of  girth, 
therefore,  in  an  animal  is  the  perfect  circle,  filling  up  the  crops 
well. 

Twenty-eight  years  ago  Mr.  Clay  began  breeding  Shorthorns, 
and  imported  the  first  thoroughbred  into  Madison  county,  Ken 
tucky.  He  was  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature  at  the  time, 
and  thinks  he  lost  many  hundred  votes  because  he  dared  to 
pay  $100  for  a  blooded  bull.  His  neighbors  thought  it  better 
to  send  him  to  a  lunatic  asylum  than  to  the  Legislature.  Things 
are  changed  now.  These  very  men  come  to  him  and  pay  some 
times  $300  for  a  single  animal.  In  former  and  more  prosperous 
times  he  has  had  500  or  more  animals  feeding  on  his  farm  at 
once,  and  has  handled  as  many  as  a  thousand  head  in  a  year. 


166  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

His  herd  is  now  small,  but  choice ;  for  he  has  sold  the  poorer 
animals  and  kept  none  but  the  best.  He  breeds  from  the  stock 
of  1817,  and  later  brought,  and  holds  his  own  with  the  owners 
of  recently  imported  animals. 

Breeding  as  an  Art. — In  breeding,  we  cannot  be  too  strongly 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  LIKE  PRODUCES  LIKE.  Does  jf  man 
gather  grapes  from  thorns,  or  figs  from  thistles?  We  should 
regard  purity  of  blood,  choosing  our  breeding-animals  from  a 
family  in  which  there  has  been  a  succession  of  animnls  of  the 
same  type.  If  we  use  a  grade  bull  we  are  never  sure  but  that 
the  calf  will  take  on  the  type  of  some  one  of  the  worst  of  his 
ancestors.  Climate,  soil,  and  food,  have  a  great  effect  on  the 
physical  development  of  both  men  and  animals.  A  genial  cli 
mate  and  abundance  of  food  make  beautiful  and  healthy  ani 
mals,  and  the  magnificent  Shorthorn  doubtless  owes  it  suprem 
acy  to  the  fact  that  it  had  both  of  these  aids  in  the  valley  of 
the  Tees. 

We  should  strive  to  breed  so  that  the  defects  of  one  parent 
may  be  counterbalanced  by  the  points  of  the  other.  If  the 
dam  is  inferior  in  girth,  the  sire  should  be  fine  there ;  if  the  one 
be  too  long  in  body,  the  other  should  be  rather  short.  We 
should  never  cross  animals  of  very  great  dissimilarity  of  devel 
opment,  however,  lest  the  defect  be  thereby  unreached,  nor 
should  such  diverse  breeds  as  the  Alderney  and  Shorthorn 
be  mingled.  Mr.  Clay  is  a  decided  opponent  to  the  practice 
of  "  in-and-in"  breeding,  basing  his  objections  on  what  he  deems 
adequate  experience  and  observation.  In  his  opinion  it  is  as 
wrong  to  breed  closely  with  animals,  as  for  cousins  and  other 
near  relatives  to  intermarry.  Bakewell,  of  Dishley,  England, 
proved  that  fully.  He  gathered  the  best  specimens  of  sheep 
and  Longhorns,  and  bred  them  up  to  good  specimens — making 
the  Leicester  into  the  improved  Dishleys,  and  very  superior 
Longhorns.  But  by  "  in-and-in,"  or  close  breeding,  the  stock 
ran  down.  The  Bakewells,  or  Dishleys,  had  to  invigorate 
with  new  crosses,  and  the  Longhorns,  being  at  best  a  poor 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  167 

breed,  have  gone  to  nothing  !  He  referred  his  audience  to  a 
full  discussion  of  the  subject  of  "in-and-in"  breeding,  between 
himself  and  others,  in  the  American  Agriculturist  for  1859. 

As  a  general  rule  the  female  should  be  comparatively  larger 
than  the  male.  Mr.  C.  had  found  it  very  hard  for  scrub  cows 
to  be  delivered  of  the  foetus  by  a  large  Shorthorn  bull.  A 
large  coarse  bull  is  especially  to  be  avoided. 

The  whole  art  of  feeding  might  be  summed  up  in  the  remark, 
that  the  animal  should  never  recede  in  flesh  till  mature,  but  be 
kept  in  good  growing  order  always ;  never  too  fat  nor  too  lean. 
That  is  the  way  to  have  perfection  of  fcrm — other  things  being 
equal.  When  animals  are  grown  it  is  not  so  important  to  keep 
them  always  in  good  flesh ;  although  he  has  known  show  ani 
mals,  once  too  fat,  ruined  in  health  by  getting  too  poor !  Too 
much  fat  will  destroy  the  breeding  power  in  male  and  female 
frequently.  In  Kentucky  they  are  fast  rivalling,  if  not  excel 
ling,  England.  Because,  by  the  system  of  open  stables  and 
out-door  exercise,  the  laws  of  health  are  better  observed. 
The  animals  in  England  kept  too  much  in  stables  and  fed  on 
heating  food  like  oil-cake,  have  to  be  rowelled,  bled,  and 
purged !  Of  course  we  who  follow  nature's  law,  need  none  of 
that ;  and  will  ultimately  beat  them  in  perfection  of  form,  &c. 
With  us,  in  Kentucky,  there  is  none  of  that  degeneration  of 
animals  imported,  which  is  so  often  talked  of  in  the  North ; 
because  we  keep  up  the  favorable  surroundings  and  means  of 
progress. 

The  Shorthorns  will  conceive  at  under  four  months.  But 
Mr.  Clay  prefers  to  have  them  2  years  old  before  they  are  im 
pregnated.  If  they  calve  younger  they  should  be  fed  highly, — 
for,  if  they  are  not,  the  fetus  takes  up  so  much  of  the  nutri 
ment,  that  the  mother  is  stinted  in  food  for  necessary  assimila 
tion,  arid  becomes  stunted  and  ill-formed.  Possibly  early  breed 
ing  may  rather  more  favor  the  milking  quality ;  but  his  expe 
rience  is  not  sufficient  to  accede  without  further  proofs  to  this 
general  idea. 


168  TALE   AGRICULTURAL  LECTURES. 

All  breeds  for  permanent  breeders  should  be  thoroughbred. 
The  Shorthorn  brings  up  the  native  cattle  wonderfully, — but 
they  should  be  bred  all  the  time  to  a  thoroughbred  bull,  and 
the  grades  should  not  be  bred,  if  it  can  be  avoided,  to  any 
other  bull.  This  way  will  bring  a  herd  up  wonderfully  by  the 
simple  outlay  for  a  good  bull. 

With  regard  to  color:  within  the  bounds  which  mark  a 
breed,  he  knows  no  utilitarian  color.  The  Shorthorns  combine 
red  and  white  in  all  proportions ;  but  no  other  color,  except 
yellow,  is  admissible.  Red  is  just  now  the  favorite  color. 
Roan  was  once,  and  may  be  again.  White  winters  and  fattens 
as  well  in  Kentucky  as  any  other  color.  Some  of  the  finest 
bullocks  ever  sent  to  the  New  York  market  were  grazed  by 
him,  and  were  whites.  The  finest  and  best  fatted  heifer  he 
ever  saw  was  descended  from  the  1817  stock  of  Shorthorns, 
and  was  white — weighing  over  two  thousand  pounds ! 

Mr.  Clay  did  not  believe  the  doctrine  that  the  features  of  the 
first  sire  were  impressed  to  some  extent  upon  all  succeeding 
foetuses.  He  thought  that  idea  had  been  originated  by  the 
women  !  Mr.  Clay  thought  we  were  in  the  infancy  of  the  art 
of  breeding — full  of  uncertainty  now ;  yet  the  laws  of  breed 
ing  were  as  fixed  as  the  laws  of  Physics.  All  we  wanted  was 
knowledge.  We  knew  no  way  at  present  of  influencing  the 
sex — though  he  thought  the  most  vigorous  animal  influenced 
the  sex.  He  thought,  if  an  old  bull  went  to  many  cows,  the 
calves  would  be  heifers  mostly; — but  if  a  young  bull  went  to  a 
few  and  rather  old  cows,  the  result  would  be  males.  We 
needed  more  intelligence  and  more  close  observation.  The 
course  of  higher  progress  was  in  such  efforts  as  those  now  here 
making.  Let  our  motto  be — Excelsior ! 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  169 


TWENTY-FIRST  DAY.— FEB.  24,  1860. 

According  to  the  pre-arranged  schedule,  we  should  have  had 
a  lecture  from  Mr.  DONALD  G.  MITCHELL  (Ik  Marvel),  on 
Rural  Economy,  and  two  from  AMBROSE  STEVENS,  on  Horses ; 
but  Mr.  Mitchell  excused  himself  on  the  ground  that  his  sub 
ject  had,  in  great  degree,  been  anticipated  in  preceding  lec 
tures,  and  owing  to  some  fault  in  the  mails,  or  otherwise,  Prof. 
Porter's  letters  and  telegraphic  dispatches  failed  to  reach  Mr. 
Stevens.  We  have  been  in  both  cases  disappointed ;  for  there 
is  no  such  graceful  pen  as  Ik  Marvel's  enlisted  in  the  cause  of 
agriculture,  and  Mr.  Stevens  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best- 
informed  and  scholarly  of  our  horse  and  cattle  breeders. 

Mr.  MASON  C.  WELD,  a  pupil  of  Liebig's,  and  now  one  of  the 
editors  of  The  Homestead,  gave  us  last  evening  a  sensible  lec 
ture  on  Agricultural  Associations. 

After  remarking  upon  the  general  benefits  of  association 
among  formers — the  proposition  being  maintained  that  in  pro 
portion  to  the  degree  of  enlightenment  attained,  is  the  readi 
ness  of  individuals  to  communicate  their  knowledge  and  expe 
rience  for  the  benefit  of  others — Mr.  Weld  took  up,  separately, 
the  various  kinds  of  organizations  sustained  for  mutual  benefit 
among  farmers.  Cattle  insurance  companies,  on  the  mutual 
plan,  were  passed  with  simply  calling  attention  to  them  as 
having  a  very  beneficial  effect  in  necessitating  accurate  veteri 
nary  knowledge  and  practice,  and  the  humane  treatment  of 
poor,  ailing  beasts,  instead  of  the  barbarities  now  too  often 
practised.  Agricultural  associations  were  treated  under  the 
following  titles:  Temporary  Farmers'  Clubs,  Permanent  Far 
mers'  Clubs,  Town  Clubs;  County,  State,  and  National  Agri 
cultural  Societies. 

The  Temporary  Farmers'  Clubs  are  simply  meetings  of  far 
mers — e.  g.,  those  attending  a  fair,  or  members  of  a  State  Leg 
islature — who  assemble,  appoint  a  chairman,  and  talk  agricul- 
8 


170  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

ture.  The  requisites  to  success  are — 1st,  short  speeches;  2d, 
an  active,  prompt  chairman. 

The  Farmers'  Club  proper,  is  an  organization — the  simpler 
the  better — of  the  farmers  of  a  neighborhood.  It  was  advised 
to  have,  in  general,  no  regular  constitution,  but  a  few  simple 
rules  instead ;  to  elect  a  presiding  officer  at  every  meeting,  but 
to  have  a  permanent  secretary,  with  extraordinary  powers, 
appointed  annually.  The  primary  object  of  the  farmers'  clubs 
is,  to  promote,  in  every  feasible  way,  the  improvement  of  the 
agriculture  of  the  district.  This  is  accomplished  by  making 
common  stock  of  the  knowledge  possessed  by  each  member ; 
collecting  statistics  ;  keeping  a  record  of  extraordinary  events  ; 
distributing  seeds  and  grafts ;  testing  implements ;  aiding  each 
other  by  counsel ;  maintaining  regular  meetings ;  a  library,  &c. 

A  plan  for  breaking  up  the  boys'  debating-society  system, 
which  such  clubs  are  apt  to  fall  into,  to  the  disgust  of  good 
farmers,  and  the  ultimate  discontinuance  of  the  clubs,  was  pro- 
faced  as  follows :  Suppose  the  clubs  to  represent  fairly  the  best 
farmers  of  their  districts,  and  to  meet  all  of  them  (that  is,  all 
of  the  State  or  county)  upon  the  same  day,  about  the  first  of 
each  month.  A  set  of  questions  for  each  month  in  the  year 
being  set  forth  by  the  central  State  association,  each  farmer 
may  answer  each  question  as  concerns  his  own  farm ;  and  as 
the  questions  should  be  carefully  prepared  with  a  view  to  de 
velop  the  most  important  facts  and  statistics,  a  summary  of  the 
answers  of  all  will  give  a  view  of  the  position  of  the  town, 
prospectively  and  retrospectively,  as  regards  its  products  seek 
ing  n  market ;  sales  and  purchases ;  crop  prospects  and  results 
of  harvests ;  increase  of  stock ;  diseases  among  domestic  animals ; 
prevalence  of  disease  among  crops ;  insect  ravages,  &c.  The 
plan  is,  that  these  monthly  statistics  should  be  placed  on  file; 
a  summary  sent  to  the  secretary  of  the  county,  or  State  socie 
ty,  as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  that  the  more  important  facts, 
affecting  the  market,  may  be  made  public,  while  all  should  be 
kept  on  file  at  one  place  or  the  other,  for  reference  and  inves- 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  171 

ligation.  The  object  to  be  gained  is  the  personal  interest  of 
members  in  the  club,  and  especially  of  all  good  farmers,  and 
the  full  accomplishment  of  the  legitimate  ends  of  the  associa 
tion.  The  Farmers'  Club  was  held  to  be  the  most  important 
means  of  educating  a  class  of  energetic  and  intelligent  farmers, 
to  whom  may  be  intrusted  the  affairs  of  the  State  and  County 
Agricultural  Societies. 

The  County  Society  should  be  made  up  of  the  Farmers' 
Clubs,  and  the  two  classes  of  organizations  should  work  harmo 
niously  .together,  each  doing  its  own  work.  A  more  definite 
organization  is  needed — officers  elected  for  one  year  at  least, 
a  vice-president,  or  director,  being  chosen  from  each  town  by 
the  Farmers'  Club  of  the  town.  The  fairs  were  shown  to  be 
a  chief  means  of  carrying  forward  the  objects  of  these  societies, 
and  also  the  great  desirableness  of,  and  the  great  difficulty  of 
securing  the  services  of  fair,  honorable,  intelligent,  reasonable 
men  to  act  as  Awarding  Committees.  The  cure  for  the  state  of 
things  now  commonly  existing  lies  in  first  offering  fewer  pre 
miums,  and  increasing  their  value,,;  second,  allowing  no  discre 
tionary  premiums,  or  gratuities,  to  be  given  in  classes  in  which 
regular  prizes  are  offered ;  third,  insisting  that  the  award  shall 
represent  the  accurate  estimation  of  the  committee  of  the 
worthiness  of  the  animal,  or  article,  without  regard  to  the  en- 
couragement  or  reward  of  the  owner  for  making  the  exhibition ; 
fourth,  thro  wing  the  whole  of  the  responsibility  of  making  a  cor 
rect  judgment  upon  the  committee,  and  securing  the  fairest  and 
best  men.  Offering  prizes  for  articles  of  no  agricultural  use 
or  importance,  as  well  as  making  balloon  shows,  ladies'  riding- 
matches,  &c.,  were  condemned  as  undignified  and  unworthy  of 
an  Agricultural  Association. 

State  Societies  should — as  most  do — depend  upon  the  county 
organizations,  as  these  in  turn  do  upon  the  clubs;  and  their 
management  is  much  the  same — only  upon  a  larger  scale.  Mu 
seums  of  all  things  of  an  agricultural  bearing,  implements, 
grasses  and  grains,  seeds,  models,  &c.,  and  libraries  of  home 


172  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

and  foreign  journals  and  books  of  reference,  were  advocated, 
as  well  as  the  practical  use  of  interchanges  of  seeds,  grafts,  &c., 
through  the  medium  of  this  mutual  dependence  of  the  societies 
and  clubs  one  upon  another. 

In  conclusion,  the  lecturer  advocated  strongly  the  establish 
ment  at  once  of  an  experimental  farm,  in  connection  with  a 
thoroughly  furnished  laboratory,  referring  to  the  debt  the  world 
owes  Lawes  and  Gilbert  for  their  experiments  at  Rothampstead, 
and  to  the  most  weighty  results  developed  by  the  investiga 
tions  in  France  and  Germany,  which  latter  country  has  now  in 
operation  more  than  forty  experiment  stations  under  the  man 
agement  of  competent  men  of  science  in  connection  with  prac 
tical  farmers. 

The  convention  assembled  at  9  o'clock  this  morning,  and 
listened  to  a  lecture  upon  the  methods  in  use  for  "  Breaking 
and  training  horses,"  by  Dr.  DANIEL  F.  GULLIVER,  of  Norwich. 
The  introductory  part  of  his  lecture  was  spent  mainly  in  de 
scribing  the  characteristics  of  horses  as  distinct  from  other 
breeds  of  animals.  Their  high  spirit,  great  intelligence,  and 
susceptibility  to  fear  as  well  as  kindness,  render  them  a  proper 
companion  for  man.  Upon  these  principles  in  his  nature  do  the 
principles  of  training  depend.  The  systems  of  Baucher  and 
Rarey  only  will  be  discussed.  The  former  is  easy  and  extreme 
ly  simple,  even  almost  stupid  when  considered  in  its  several 
parts,  yet  as  a  whole  it  is  eminently  successful.  It  was  first  in 
troduced  into  this  country  in  1851,  at  Philadelphia.  It  is  very 
popular  in  France,  so  much  so  that  in  the  eight  years  from  '41 
to  '49,  nine  editions  were  sold  of  that  work.  It  should  be  owned 
by  every  man  that  owns  a  horse.  This  system  is  designed 
principally  to  finish  the  horse  for  the  saddle ;  but  its  principles 
are  applicable  to  all  classes  of  horses,  excepting  those  intended 
for  heavy  draught.  Mr.  Seth  Craige,  of  Philadelphia,  who  has 
used  this  method  even  from  the  proof  sheets,  whence  he  learn 
ed  it,  says  a  horse  fitted  for  the  saddle  makes  the  best  harness 
horse,  and  this  is  the  system  for  developing  speed  and  harmony 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  173 

of  action.  The  animal  is  well  balanced,  and  so  trots  better  be 
cause  all  its  movements  are  regular.  Everything  is  graceful, 
and  all  the  forces  of  the  system  assist  each  other.  Herbert 
says  a  horse  has  greater  docility,  as  well  as  better  style  and  ac 
tion,  if  it  be  thoroughly  trained  in  the  saddle  before  being  put 
into  the  harness.  The  improvement  is  proportioned  to  the  ex 
tent  and  degree  of  supplying  more  or  less.  To  break  properly,  we 
should  seek  out  sources  of  resistance  to  graceful  motion,  whether 
from  the  physical  nature,  or  from  a  previous  imperfect  motion. 
All  the  resistances  we  should  overcome  by  a  progressive  sys 
tem  of  suppling,  applied  successively  to  the  principal  muscles 
from  the  head  to  the  haunches.  The  work  is  generally  badly 
begun,  and  bad  habits  are  produced.  The  term/brce,  as  we  use  it, 
is  muscular  power  in  action.  The  forces  of  the  horse  are  subjec 
ted  to  control  by  giving  to  the  body  a  new  balance,  where  all  the 
instinctive  forces  are  changed  to  transmitted.  Forces  are 
termed  instinctive,  when  the  horse  determines  the  use  of  them; 
transmitted,  when  the  man  determines  the  use  of  them.  Any 
man  who  has  a  modicum  of  "  horse"  in  his  disposition,  may  go 
through  the  supplings  with  his  beast  and  break  him  well,  but 
it  is  a  gradual  process.  The  forces  should  be  first  conquered, 
and  finally  studied  so  as  properly  to  direct  them.  The  animal 
should  be  taught  the  exercise  of  the  forces  of  balance  and  mo 
tion.  The  focus  of  these  forces  is  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the 
animal,  while  at  rest  or  in  motion.  The  various  technical  steps 
in  this  process  were  gone  through  with  in  detailed  description 
by  Dr.  G.,  commencing  from  the  head  and  passing  along  back 
ward.  The  muscles  controlling  the  action  of  the  animal  are  to  be 
subdued  individually.  Direct  and  indirect  flexion  of  the  jaw 
and  of  those  muscles  which  join  the  head  to  the  neck,  is  cal 
culated  to  aid  his  intelligence,  and  thus  secures,  more  satisfac 
torily,  what  the  bitting  harness  is  designed  to  accomplish. 
The  very  use  of  training  is  to  supple  the  horse  to  the  hand  ; 
hence,  what  need  of  machinery  ?  The  neck  and  head  are  the 
two  props  upon  which  the  horse  relies  to  resist  efforts  to  break 


174  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

him.  The  whip  should  seldom  be  used  as  a  punishment,  but 
when  it  is,  let  it  be  done  energetically  and  suddenly,  to  frighten 
the  horse  and  intimidate  him,  rather  than  by  being  passionate 
and  furious,  to  make  him  angry.  There  is  great  advantage  in 
removing  the  support  before  shifting  the  weight.  And  an  ani 
mal  must  be  taught  to  lift  his  foot  before  throwing  the  weight 
in  the  direction  he  wishes  to  move.  Whatever  is  possible  with 
a  horse,  Baucher's  system  makes  attainable,  and  this  by  the 
easiest  means.  The  action  of  wild  horses  is  perfect,  but  when 
domesticated,  chained  to  a  stable,  holding  sharp  bits,  (of  which 
forty  kinds  were  lately  on  exhibition  in  Philadelphia,)  the  native 
grace  is  lost ;  but  all  the  high  capabilities  remain,  and  are  seen 
in  the  common  horse,  when  developed  by  the  supplings  of 
Baucher.  "  What  is  gracefully  done  is  easily  done,"  is  a 
maxim  as  applicable  here  as  elsewhere.  The  horse  of  the  pres 
ent  day  wears  out  too  soon  because  its  education  is  forgotten, 
and  it  is  treated  like  a  machine.  Proper  breaking  and  training 
would  add  30,  60,  and  in  special  cases  even  100  per  cent,  to 
the  value  of  horses.  Not  one  in  a  hundred,  Herbert  tells  us,  or 
even  in  a  thousand  in  the  United  States,  was  ever  properly 
broken,  and  not  one  in  fifty  has  the  proper  rudiments  of  an  edu 
cation.  In  ten  years  the  demand  for  saddle  horses  will  be  in 
creased  in  a  twelve-fold  ratio.  The  foolish  desire  of  the  com 
munity  is  for  speed.  If  a  horse  is  not  fast,  he  is  good  for  noth 
ing.  The  high  prices  these  fast  horses  bring  would  be  a  for 
tune  to  some  of  the  farmers.  But  they  forget  how  many  inter 
mediate  hands  these  prices  pay.  Most  farmers  try  to  breed 
something  FAST  (tempted  by  the  fabulous  price,  or  because 
their  neighbors  do)  ;  thus  the  whole  community  is  involved, 
and  the  market  glutted  with  a  class  of  horses,  which  if  they 
foil  in  speed  are  fit  for  nothing  else.  This  process  is  the  best 
to  develop  the  animal,  but  it  must  be  progressively  and  care 
fully  applied.  Such  is  Baucher's  effectual  means  to  annul  and 
equalize  all  resistances.  Rarey's  method  is  applicable  to  all 
horses,  of  all  ages,  but  to  those  especially  who  have  never  been 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL    LECTURES.  175 

handled  at  all,  or  have  been  badly  handled.  It  consists  in  lay 
ing  the  horse  flat  upon  the  ground,  by  simple  and  easy  means, 
though  in  extreme  cases  the  terrible  process  of  choking  is 
resorted  to.  In  1858,  the  New  York  Tribune  gave  a  compen 
dium  of  it.  The  nigh  fore  leg  is  to  be  bent  at  the  knee,  and 
the  hoof  strapped  to  the  leg.  A  long  strap  is  fastened  low  on 
the  off  fore  leg.  Thus  we  have  the  horse  on  three  legs  and 
under  control.  After  two  or  three  throws  he  becomes  entirely 
submissive,  and  no  act  of  kindness  is  thereafter  lost  upon  him. 
Affection  to  his  master,  personally,  is  the  great  result  of  the 
Rarey  method.  This  throwing  need  not  injure  the  animal, 
since  it  may  be  done  with  some  soft  material  under  foot,  or  the 
knees  be  protected  by  pads;  moreover,  the  posture  is  one  the 
horse  assumes  voluntarily  whenever  he  wishes  to  lie  down.  In 
a  herd  of  native  horses,  social  position  is  determined  by  the 
varying  degree  of  muscular  force,  and  if  so  overcome  by  man, 
he  will  be  convinced  he  is  his  superior  and  yield.  If  you  go  so 
far,  you  have  now  a  pupil  which  will  learn  anything.  But  be 
patient,  even-tempered,  not  hasty,  and  never  angry.  Rarey 
says  anger  and  fear  should  not  be  known  to  trainers.  Ask 
nothing  that  you  do  not  want,  and  then  always  have  it  per 
formed. 

At  the  close  of  the  lecture,  Win.  Whittlesey,  of  New 
Britain,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  several  questions  bearing 
on  different  points,  were  asked  the  lecturer,  all  of  which  he 
answered  satisfactorily. 

THE  COURSE  CLOSED. 

NEW  HAVEN,  Feb.  25,  1860. 

After  Mr.  Mason  C.  Weld's  lecture,  as  I  yesterday  stated, 
there  followed  an  address  by  Professor  PORTER,  and  a  sort  of 
discussion  upon  the  success  of  this  plan  of  agricultural  educa 
tion.  Professor  Porter  has  modestly  refrained  from  speech- 
making  from  the  very  commencement,  and  has  stooped  to  none 


176  YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES. 

of  those  tricks  to  make  popularity  which  the  engineers  of  less 
important  enterprises  often  employ.  He  deemed  it  incumbent 
upon  him,  at  the  close  of  his  course,  to  give  a  sketch  of  its 
inception,  and  show  what  reasons  he  had  to  believe  its  perma 
nence  secured. 

I  shall  make  no  report  of  his  remarks,  for  in  his  preface  to 
this  volume  he  has  stated  his  views  at  sufficient  length,  and 
much  better  than  I  could. 

The  Professor  having  concluded  his  remarks,  Mr.  H.  A. 
Dyer,  Treasurer  of  the  Connecticut  Agricultural  Society,  was, 
on  motion,  elected  Chairman  of  the  meeting,  and  Mr.  H.  A. 
Pitkin,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  Secretary ;  and  an  organization 
being  thus  effected, 

Dr.  WM.  A.  TOWNSEND,  of  Lockport,  N.  Y.,  offered  the  fol 
lowing  preamble  and  resolutions  : 

Whereas,  The  Faculty  of  the  Scientific  School  of  Yale  College  have 
instituted  a  course  of  lectures,  given  by  scientific  and  practical  men,  in 
relation  to  all  the  various  departments  of  agriculture,  combined  with  a 
system  of  discussion,  questions  and  answers,  statements  and  illustrations, 
we  who  have  participated  in  these  interesting  exercises  feel  a  desire  to 
express  to  the  agricultural  community  at  large  our  views  and  opinions 
in  regard  to  the  same  :  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  cordially  and  fully  approve  of  this  method  of  diffus 
ing  and  disseminating  agricultural  information,  and  regard  it  as  the 
opening  of  a  new  era,  and  presenting  new  facilities  to  all  classes  of  agri 
culturists  in  our  country  for  obtaining  correct  and  reliable  information 
and  knowledge,  in  relation  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  therefore 
recommend  this  method  to  the  candid  consideration  of  all  farmers  and 
cultivators,  of  whatever  age,  position,  and  locality. 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  success  of  this  Convention,  the  gratitude 
of  the  agricultural  community  is  due  to  Prof.  JOHN  A.  PORTER  and  his 
associates  for  the  design  so  happily  conceived,  and  his  untiring  efforts 
in  carrying  it  out. 

Resolved,  That  we  entertain  the  hope  and  express  our  earnest  desire 
that  this  may  prove  the  germ  of  a  permanent  institution,  endowed  with 
all  needful  facilities  for  illustration,  which,  as  a  department  of  the  Yale 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  177 

Scientific  School,  shall  greatly  promote  the  cause  of  Agriculture,  and 
elevate  the  farmer  to  his  true  social  and  intellectual  position. 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  tender  our  warmest  thanks  to  the  citizens 
of  New  Haven,  who  have  extended  to  us  so  many  acts  of  kindness  and 
hospitality  during  our  sojourn  here,  and  we  beg  them  to  be  assured  that 
the  evidences  of  their  generosity  and  goodness  are  duly  appreciated  and 
will  long  be  remembered. 

These  were  unanimously  adopted. 

Mr.  M.  L.  HOLBROOK,  of  the  Ohio  Farmer,  then  offered  an 
additional  one,  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  be  tendered  to  the 
lecturers,  for  the  promptness  of  their  response  to  the  call,  and  for  the 
very  able  and  faithful  manner  in  which  they  have  conveyed  both  scien 
tific  and  practical  instruction. 

Mr.  LEWIS  F.  ALLEN  said  that  he  had  had  no  doubts  of  the 
success  of  this  plan  from  the  very  first,  and  he  had  come  500 
miles  or  more  to  show  his  disposition  to  aid  the  movement  as 
much  as  lay  in  his  power.  The  names  of  the  lecturers  were 
of  themselves  a  guaranty  of  the  value  of  the  course,  if  Yale 
College  had  not  lent  its  influence  toward  it.  In  his  opinion, 
Yale  College,  with  all  her  great  achievements,  had  never  done 
anything  so  great  or  important  as  in  establishing  this  Agri 
cultural  Lecture  system. 

Mr.  S.  B.  PARSONS,  of  Long  Island,  thought  that  an  experi 
mental  farm  would  grow  naturally  from  this  movement,  and 
if  it  did,  and  it  were  properly  conducted,  who  could  prophesy 
the  national  benefits  which  would  result  ? 

Mr.  JUDD,  of  the  Agriculturist,  gave  his  unqualified  approval 
of  the  matter,  and  promised  the  aid  of  his  paper  to  the  fullest 
extent  possible. 

Prof.  B.  SILLIMAN,  Jr.,  said  that  when  he  saw  all  this  enthusi 
asm  and  good  feeling  he  could  not  help  recalling  the  by-gone 
days  of  1846,  '47  and  '48,  when  the  late  John  Pitkin  Norton 
and  himself  had,  after  much  trouble,  obtained  the  recognition 
of  an  Agricultural  Department  from  the  College  officials, 
8* 


178  YALE   AGRICULTURAL    LECTURES. 

How  tremblingly  they  two  had  started  on  their  work,  with 
their  little  collection  of  apparatus  !  Their  first  class  of  pupils 
was  very  small  in  number,  but  all  its  members  had  achieved 
honorable  reputations.  Their  beginning,  small  as  it  was,  was 
still  due  to  the  enlightened  views  and  generous  enthusiasm  of 
Mr.  John  T.  Norton,  of  Farmington,  who  contributed  $5,000 
toward  a  fund  to  endow  a  Professorship  of  Agricultural 
Chemistry,  and,  since  his  son's  untimely  death,  had  allowed 
the  income  from  that  sum  to  remain  for  appropriations  to  the 
same  end. 

The  CHAIRMAN  spoke  feelingly  to  the  memory  of  Norton, 
and  foresaw  for  this  department  a  flattering  future. 

Other  gentlemen  expressed  similar  views,  and,  after  a  pleas 
ant  evening's  discussion,  the  meeting  adjourned,  without  day. 

It  is  not  worth  our  while  to  indulge  in  lengthy  comments 
upon  the  mode  of  conducting  this  course  of  lectures,  nor  upon 
the  success  which  has  crowned  the  labors  of  its  managers  ;  but 
that  the  readers  of  this  volume  may  know  how  truly  national 
an  interest  had  been  excited  in  it,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
future  historian  of  American  agricultural  education,  I  will  state 
that  there  have  been  registered  on  the  book  about  350  names. 
Of  these  persons,  172  only  are  from  Connecticut,  23  from 
Massachusetts,  35  from  New  York,  and  the  remainder  is  di 
vided  between  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Vermont,  Ohio,  Pennsyl 
vania,  New  Jersey,  New  Hampshire,  Maine,  Illinois,  Florida, 
Wisconsin,  Rhode  Island,  and  the  Canadas,  East  and  West. 
Considering  that  in  the  Undergraduate  Department  of  Yale 
there  are  only  502  students,  the  regular  attendance  of 
nearly  or  quite  350  at  the  agricultural  lectures  should  be 
well  weighed  in  the  minds  of  the  Faculty,  and  prompt 
them  to  not  only  give  a  tacit  recognition,  but,  so  far  as 
consistent  with  professional  duties,  take  an  active  interest  in 
the  establishment  of  this  department  of  agriculture.  They 
may  rest  assured  that,  by  so  doing,  they  will  make  the  name 
of  Yale  more  respected  in  her  old  age  than  it  ever  has  been 


YALE   AGRICULTURAL   LECTURES.  179 

in  her  palmiest  days.  When,  some  time  ago,  I  wanted  to  take 
a  course  of  agricultural  instruction,  I  was  forced  to  cross  the 
ocean,  because  there  was  no  suitable  place  at  home.  Thanks 
to  Prof.  Porter,  his  associates,  and  the  generous  friends  who 
have  contributed  their  money  to  aid  them,  others  will  not  be 
put  to  the  same  straits.  Within  a  few  years  from  this  time, 
Yale  College  will  have,  probably,  as  spacious  apartments,  as 
complete  a  museum,  library  and  reading-room,  and  as  well  ap 
pointed  a  laboratory  as  any  student,  however  diligent,  may 
require.  And  with  this  pleasing  prospect  in  view,  congratula 
ting  Profs.  Porter  and  Johnson  upon  the  success  of  their  ex 
periment,  I  close  my  note-book,  and  write  among  the  things 
of  the  Past  this  first  course  of  the  YALE  AGRICULTURAL 
LECTURES. 


APPENDIX. 


AN  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT. 

the  close  of  the  Yale  Agricultural  Convention  for 
1860,  Professor  Porter  promised  to  issue  a  scheme  for  some 
simple  and  easily-conducted  experiments,  with  the  results  of 
which  the  Convention  might  contribute  new  material  to  the 
practice  and  theory  of  rational  agriculture.  The  business  of 
preparing  a  plan  of  trials  having  been  confided  to  the  under 
signed,  he  has  deemed  it  best  to  select  some  fertilizer  as  the 
subject  of  experiment,  and  indeed,  that  substance  which  in 
our  country  is  everywhere  accessible  and  cheap,  its  use  being 
unhampered  by  the  burdensome  imposts  which  still  render  it 
expensive  in  nearly  all  other  countries.  This  substance  is  salt ; 
one  which,  furnishing  indispensable  ingredients  to  the  digestive 
fluids,  performs  most  important  offices  in  the  economy  of  the 
animal  kingdom,  and  is,  unquestionably,  most  naturally  and 
healthfully  derived  from  the  food  itself. 

SAMUEL  W.  JOHNSON. 

Yale  Scientific  School,  New  Haven,  Ct.,  March,  1860. 


EXPERIMENTAL  STUDY  OF  THE  USE  OF  SALT  AS  A  FERTILIZER. 

THE  action  of  salt  as  a  fertilizer,  has  long  been  a  matter  of 
uncertainty  and  dispute  among  agriculturists.  In  many  cases 
it  has  been  reported  to  be  extremely  useful,  in  many  more  to 
be  entirely  valueless,  and  in  some  positively  disastrous. 

(181) 


182  APPENDIX. 

We  have  no  reason  to  disbelieve  the  testimony  that  has  been 
offered  at  various  times,  and  from  a  wide  range  of  experi 
menters,  although  it  is  so  contradictory  in  its  character. 

If  the  various  statements  concerning  the  use  of  salt  as  a  fer 
tilizer  are  true,  the  important  question  arises,  How  are  we  to 
know  when  it  will  be  useful,  and  when  otherwise? 

This  question  can  only  be  answered  by  the  repetition  of  ex 
periments,  which  must  be  made  under  a  great  variety  of  cir 
cumstances,  and  under  conditions  that  are  accurately  known 
and  defined. 

In  conducting  such  an  inquiry,  it  is  of  the  first  importance  to 
gather  from  the  existing  stock  of  experience,  all  the  facts  which 
throw  any  light  either  upon  the  question  itself,  or  upon  the 
methods  of  investigating  it. 

Under  the  conviction  that  a  multitude  of  careful  trials  may 
be  instituted  among  our  farmers,  with  the  prospect  of  explain 
ing  the  contradictions  of  former  experience,  or  at  least  of  re 
vealing  the  valuable  fact  that  salt  is  capable  of  doing  the  agricul 
turist  great  service  in  many  localities  where  it  has  not  yet  been 
tried,  and  also  of  contributing  to  the  education  of  the  public 
in  the  objects  and  methods  of  experimental  agriculture,  we 
have  drawn  up  from  various  sources  the  facts,  assertions  and 
probabilities  which  may  serve  as  guides  in  attempting  the  solu 
tion  of  this  problem. 

1st.  We  know  that  the  constituents  of  common  salt  (chlo- 
*ine  and  sodium)  are  unfailing  ingredients  of  all  agricultural 
plants,  although  they  exist  in  vegetation  in  very  variable,  usu 
ally  quite  small  amount. 

2d.  We  know  that  in  many  instances  (perhaps  in  all  where 
this  subject  has  been  accurately  studied)  the  use  of  salt  as  a 
manure  has  increased  (often  doubled)  the  amount  of  salt  in  the 
crop. 

3<7.  We  know  that  crops  having  large  foliage  contain  (and 
require  ?)  more  salt  than  those  of  the  small-leaved  and  few- 
leaved  kinds. 


APPENDIX.  183 

4th.  It  is  said  that  tobacco  is  largely  increased  in  quantity, 
but  injured  in  quality,  by  applying  salt  as  a  manure.  The  same 
is  said  of  sugar-plants. 

5th.  It  is  probable  that  the  white  beet,  mangel-wurzel,  and 
carrot,  among  field-crops,  (as  is  certain  of  asparagus  in  the  gar 
den,  )  being  originally  marine  plants,  will  be  more  strikingly 
benefited  by  salt .  than  other  crops,  and  will  admit  of  larger 
applications,  other  things  being  equal. 

6th.  We  know  that  many  soils  near  saline  springs,  (or  re 
claimed  from  salt  marshes,)  naturally  contain  as  much  or  more 
salt  than  is  needful  for  the  growth  of  agricultural  plants. 

7th.  We  know  that  in  many  regions  (those  exposed  to  pre 
vailing  and  especially  stormy  winds  from  the  ocean)  the  soil 
annually  receives  from  spray  and  rain  more  salt  than  is  annu 
ally  removed  by  crops. 

Sth.  We  know  that  salt  is  most  often  injurious  in  dry  seasons, 
or  on  dry  soils. 

9th.  It  is  probable  that  the  positively  injurious  eifects  of  salt 
are  chiefly  due  to  its  being  applied  in  too  large  quantity ;  for 

IQth.  We  know  that  a  strong  solution  of  salt  hinders  the 
germination  of  seeds,  and  destroys  the  life  of  the  growing 
plant  (marine  plants  of  course  excepted). 

\\th.  We  know  (from  the  recent  experiments  of  Sachs  and 
Knop  in  Saxony)  that  a  weak  solution  of  salt  hinders  (by  one 
half  or  more)  the  transpiration  of  water  through  the  plant; 
therefore, 

12th.  It  is  probable  that  a  Httle  salt  has  the  effect  to  keep 
the  soil  more  humid,  and  thus  tends  to  counteract  drought ; 
and, 

I3th.  It  is  probable  that  a  little  salt,  by  hindering  excessive 
transpiration,  (and  too  rapid  growth  ?)  causes  the  cellular  tissue 
of  the  plant  to  develop  in  a  firmer,  healthier  manner  than  it 
might  otherwise  do ;  and  thus  may  be  explained, 

\4tth.  The  assertion  that  a  bushel  or  two  of  salt  per  acre  on 
grain  crops  prevents  falling  (laying  or  lodging)  of  the  straw. 


184  APPENDIX. 


.  It  is,  however,  the  experience  of  Girardin,  Fauchet, 
and  Dubreuil,  that  large  doses  (more  than  370  Ibs.  per  acre) 
increase  the  straw  rather  than  the  grain,  and  make  the  crop 
lodge  on  soil  that  has  been  dunged. 

16th.  It  is  said  that  the  small  applications  of  salt  make  the 
straw  of  the  grains  brighter,  and  prevent  rust. 

17  'th.  It  is  said  that  large  applications  delay  the  ripening  of 
the  grain. 

18th.  It  is  said  that  salt  prevents  potato  rot  (by  delaying  the 
sprouting  and  blossoming  of  the  plant,  so  that  the  critical  pe 
riod  of  its  life  is  brought  after  the  hot  fogs  and  rains  of  late 
summer?). 

19th.  We  know,  from  many  trials,  (those  of  Kuhlmann,  and 
recent  ones  of  Liebig,)  that  salt  often  remarkably  heightens  the 
effect  of  other  powerful  manures. 

20th.  We  know  (from  the  studies  of  Way  and  Eichhorn) 
that  salt  is  able  to  displace  potash,  ammonia,  and  lime  from  in 
soluble  combinations  of  these  bodies,  —  combinations  such  as, 
in  all  probability,  exist  in  the  soil.  Therefore,  and  because 

2lst.  We  know  that  salt  increases  the  power  of  water  to 
dissolve  the  phosphates  of  lime,  magnesia,  <fcc., 

22d.  It  is  probable  that  its  use  may,  on  certain  soils,  be 
equivalent  to  an  application  of  these  bodies,  by  rendering  the 
stores  of  them  already  existing  in  the  soil  available  to  crops. 

23d.  It  is  probable  that  salt  is  sometimes  advantageous,  not 
so  much  as  a  fertilizer,  as  by  destroying  worms  and  the  larvae 
of  insects. 

24th.  It  is  certain  that  fields  well  manured  with  stable  or 
yard  manure,  made  from  cattle  that  are  supplied  with  all  the 
salt  they  desire,  thus  receive  more  salt  than  is  removed  from 
them  in  ordinary  culture. 

25th.  It  is  probable  that  thorough-drained  fields  will  be  more 
benefited  by  (and  require  more  ?)  salt,  than  undrained  fields 
of  similar  soil. 

26th.  It  is  a  matter  of  experience,  that  while  500  to  600,  or 


APPENDIX.  185 

even  800  Ibs.  of  salt  may  be  applied  per  acre  before  the  seed, 
without  injury  (in  rnoist  climate  or  wet  season),  not  more  than 
200  Ibs.  per  acre  should  be  put  directly  on  the  growing  crop. 

Any  one  may  easily  select  for  himself  from  the  foregoing 
some  one  or  more  points  that  it  is  desirable  to  test  in  his  own 
locality,  and  will  also  readily  gather  the  most  important  cir 
cumstances  that  need  to  be  regarded  in  carrying  out  an  exper 
iment  to  a  good  result. 

We  add,  however,  the  following  suggestions  as  to  the  man 
ner  of  making  the  experiment : 

I.  Every  experiment  should  furnish  means  of  comparison 
with  some  standard.     If,  for  example,  it  is  sought  to  ascertain 
whether  salt  increases  a  crop  on  a  given  soil,  not  only  should  a 
portion  of  the  crop  and  soil  have  salt  applied  to  it,  but  another 
portion  should  be  left  without  the  application.     If  the  question 
is,  Is  the  straw  strengthened,  or  the  grain  made  heavier  ?  then, 
obviously,  opportunity  must  be  given  to  observe  how  strong 
the  straw  is,  or  how  heavy  the  grain  is  where  no  salt  has  been 
used. 

II.  The  plots  of  ground  should  not  usually  consist  in  a  strip 
a  few  feet  wide,  or  in  a  few  rows  of  the  crop,  but  in  a  nearly 
square  surface,  so  as  to  have  as  little  edge  to  the  piece  as  possi 
ble,  for  the  roots  of  plants  often  extend  several  feet  beyond 
ordinary  dividing  lines,  if  the  soil  be  grateful  to  them. 

III.  The  experimental  ground  should  be  as  uniform  as  possi 
ble  in  quality  of  soil,  in  tillage,  dunging,  and  exposure,  and 
should  all  have  had  the  same  treatment  as  regards  cropping 
and  manuring  for  several  years  previous  to  the  trial. 

IV.  The  plots  should  be  of  good  size,  at  least  one-eighth, 
preferably  one-fourth  of  an  acre. 

V.  "  Everything  should  be  done  by  weight  and  measure  ;" 
guesswork  is  worse  than  useless.     Let  the  plots  be  accurately 
measured,  not  "  paced  off."     Let  the  materials  added,  and  the 
crop  removed,  be  carefully  weighed,  and  not  "  estimated  by 
the  eye." 


186  APPENDIX. 

VI.  Every  care  should  be  used  to  observe  and  record,  with 
fulness  and  accuracy,  the  character,  exposure,  present  condition 
and  previous  management  of  the  soil.  The  climate  and  weather, 
the  development  of  the  crop  in  all  its  parts,  and  in  all  stages 
of  its  growth,  and  generally,  all  facts  bearing  on  the  experi 
ment,  should  be  taken  into  the  account. 


SCHEME  OF  EXPERIMENTS. 

A.  General  Effects  of  Salt, — as  increase  of  product,  improve 
ment  of  quality  of  crop,  prevention  of  disease,  &c. 

Two  plots  of  any  soil  in  any  crop, — both  may  receive  other 
manures  or  not ;  but  their  treatment  should  differ  only  in  this 
fact,  that  one  is  salted,  the  other  not.  Use  the  salt  at  the  rate 
of  350  Ibs.  per  acre,  (see  26th  observation). 

B.  Effect  on  particular  crops,  or  classes  of  crops,  as  potatoes 
compared  with  carrots,  grasses  vs.  root-crops,  root-crops  vs. 
grains. 

Two  plots  for  each  crop  as  under  A. 

C.  Effects  of  different  doses  : 

Soil  and  crop  alike, — one  plot  unsalted,  one  with  75  Ibs,  one 
with  150  Ibs.,  one  with  300  Ibs.,  one  with  450  Ibs.,  or  other 
different  quantities,  less  or  more  in  number,  as  convenient. 

D.  Effects  on  different  soils  : 

Soils  different, — tillage,  manure,  and  crop  the  same.  Dose 
of  salt  the  same.  Of  each  soil  a  salted  and  an  unsalted  plot 
should  be  observed. 


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A  TREATISE,  INTENDED  TO  EXPLAIN  AND  ILLUSTRATE  THE  PUYSI- 

ology  of  Fruit  Trees,  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  all  Operations  connected  with  the 
Propagation,  Transplanting,  Pruning  and  Training  of  Orchard  and  Garden  Trees,  as 
Standards,  Dwarfs,  Pyramids,  Espalier,  &c.  The  Laying  out  and  Arranging  different 
kinds  of  Orchards  and  Gardens,  the  selection  of  suitable  varieties  for  different  purposes 
and  localities,  Gathering  and  Preserving  Fruits,  Treatment  of  Diseases,  Destruction  of 
Insects,  Description  and  Uses  of  Implements,  &c.  Illustrated  with  upwards  of  150 
Figures.  By  P.  BARRY,  of  the  Mount  Hope  Nurseries,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

BEMENT'S  (C.  N.)  RABBIT  FANCIER, 50 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  BREEDING,  REARING,  FEEDING  AND  GENERAL 

Management  of  Rabbits,  with  Remarks  upon  their  Diseases  and  Remedies,  to  which  are 
added  Full  Directions  for  the  Construction  of  Hutches,  Rubbitries,  &c.,  together  with 
Recipes  for  Cooking  and  Dressing  for  the  Table.  Beautifully  illustrated. 

BLAZE'S  (REV.  JOHN  L.)  FARMER  AT  HOME,      ....      l  25 

A   FAMILY  TEXT  BOOK   FOR  THE    COUNTRY  ;  being  a  Cyclopedia 

of  Agricultural  Implements  and  Productions,  and  of  the  more  important  topics  in 
Domestic  Economy,  Science  and  Literature,  adapted  to  Rural  Life.  By  Rev.  JOHN  L. 
BLAKE,  D.  I). 

BOUSSINGATTLT'S  (J.  B.)  RURAL  ECONOMY, 1  25 

OR,  CHEMISTRY  APPLIED  TO  AGRICULTURE  ;  PRESENTING  DISTINCTLY 

and  in  a  Simple  Manner  the  Principles  of  Farm  Management,  the  Preservation  and  Use  of 
Manures,  the  Nutrition  and  Food  of  Animals,  and  the  General  Economy  of  Agriculture. 
The  work  is  the  fruit  of  a  long  life  of  study  aud  experiment,  and  its  perusal  will  aid  the 
farmer  greatly  in  obtaining  a  practical  and  scientific  knowledge  of  his  profession. 

BROWNE'S  AMERICAN  BIRD  FANCIER, 25 

THE   BREEDING,  REARING,  FEEDING,  MANAGEMENT  AND  PECULI- 

arities  of  Cage  and  House  Birds.     Illustrated  with  engravings. 

BROWNE'S  AMERICAN  POULTRY  YARD, 1  00 

COMPRISING    THE    ORIGIN,    HISTORY  AND    DESCRIPTION    OF    THE 

Different  Breeds  of  Domestic  Poultry,  with  Complete  Directions  for  their  Breeding, 
Crossing,  Rearing,  Fattening  and  Preparation  for  Market  ;  including  specific  directions 
for  Caponizing  Fowls,  and  for  the  Treatment  of  the  Principal  Diseases  to  which  they  are 
subject,  drawn  from  authentic  sources  and  personal  observation.  Illustrated  with 
numerous  engravings. 

BROWNE'S  (D.  JAY)  FIELD  BOOK  OF  MANURES,    -      -      -      -      1  25 
OR,  AMERICAN  MUCK  BOOK  ;  Treating  of  the  Nature,  Properties, 

Sources,  History  and  Operations  of  all  the  Principal  Fertilizers  and  Manures  in  Common 
Use,  with  specific  directions  for  their  Preservation  and  Application  to  the  Soil  aud  t« 
Crops  ;  drawn  from  authentic  sources,  actual  experience  and  personal  observation,  aa 
combined  with  the  Leading  Principles  of  Practical  and  Scientific  Agriculture. 

BRLDGEMAN'S  (THOS.)  YOUNG  GARDENER'S  ASSISTANT,     -      -      1  50 
IN  THREE  PARTS  ;  Containing  Catalogues  of  Garden  and  Flower 

Seed,  with  Practical  Directions  under  each  head  for  the  Cultivation  of  Cu  nary  Vege- 
tables,  Flowers,  Fruit  Trees,  the  Grape  Vine,  &c.  ;  to  which  is  added  a  Calendar  to  r;irh 
part,  showing  the  work  necessary  to  be  done  in  the  various  departments  each  month 
of  the  year.  One  volume  octavo. 

EEIDGEMAN'S  KITCHEN  GARDENER'S  INSTRUCTOR,          %  Cloth,      50 
««  ««  "  "  Cloth,       60 

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BRIDGEMAN'S  FLORIST'S  GUIDE,  .....      ^       K  Goth,      50 

" cioth;      60 

BRIDGEMAN'S  FRUIT  CULTIVATOR'S  MANUAL,     -  %  Cloth,      50 

"  "  '  "  Cloth,       60 

BRECK'S  BOOK  OF  FLOWERS, 1  00 

IN  WIIICH  ARE  DESCRIBED  ALL  THE  VARIOUS  HARDY  HERBACEOUS 

Perennials,  Annuals,  Shrubs,  Plants  and  Evergreen  Trees,  \v\th  Directions  for  their 
Cultivation. 

BUIST'S  (ROBERT)  AMERICAN  FLOWER  GARDEN  DIRECTORY,       1  25 

CONTAINING  PRACTICAL  DIRECTIONS  FOR  THE  CULTURE  OF  PLANTS, 

in  the  Flower  Garden,  Hothouse,  Greenhouse,  Rooms  or  Parlor  Windows,  for  every 
ncontb  in  the  Year  ;  with  a  Description  of  the  Plants  most  desirable  in  each,  the  natura 
of  the  Soil  and  situation  best  adapted  to  their  Growth,  the  Proper  Seasou  for  Trans 
planting,  &c.  ;  with  Instructions  for  erecting  a  Hothouse,  Greenhouse,  and  Laying  out 
a  Flower  Garden  ;  tbe  whole  adapted  to  either  Large  or  Small  Gardens,  with  Instruc 
tions  for  Preparing  the  Soil,  Propagator^-,  Planting,  Pruning,  Training  and  Fruiting  the 
Grape  Vine. 

BUIST'S  (ROBERT)  FAMILY  KITCHEN  GARDENER,       ...          75 
CONTAINING    PLAIN   AND   ACCURATE    DESCRIPTIONS  OF   ALL  THE 

Different  Species  and  Varieties  of  Culinary  Vegetables,  with  their  Botanical,  English, 
French  and  German  names,  alphabetically  arranged,  with  the  Best  Mode  of  Cultivat 
ing  them  in  the  Garden  or  under  Glass  ;  also  Descriptions  and  Character  of  the  most 
Select  Fruits,  their  Management,  Propagation,  &c.  By  ROBERT  BUIST,  author  of  the 
"American  Fiower  Garden  Directory,"  &c. 

CHINESE  SUGAR  CANE  AND  SUGAR-MAKING,       ....          25 
ITS  HISTORY,  CULTURE  AND  ADAPTATION  TO  THE  SOIL,  CLIMATE 

and  Economy  of  the  United  States,  with  an  Account  of  Various  Processes  of  Manu 
facturiug  Sugar.  Drawn  from  authentic  sources,  by  CHARLES  F.  STAXSBCRY,  A.  M.,  late 
Commissioner  at  the  Exhibition  of  all  Nations  at  London. 

CHORLTON'S  GRAPE-GROWER'S  GUIDE, 60 

INTENDED   ESPECIALLY   FOR   THE  AMERICAN  CLIMATE.      Being  a 

Practical  Treatise  on  the  Cultivation  of  the  Grape  Vine  in  each  department  of  Hot 
house,  Cold  Grapery,  Retarding  House  and  Out-door  Culture.  With  Plans  for  the  con 
struction  of  the  Requisite  Buildings,  and  giving  the  best  methods  for  Heating  the  same. 
Every  department  being  fully  illustrated.  By  WILLIAM  CHORLTON. 

COBBETT'S  AMERICAN  GARDENER, 50 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  SITUATION,  SOIL  AND  LAYING-OUT  OF  GARDENS, 

and  the  Making  and  Managing  of  Hotbeds  and  Greenhouses,  and  on  the  Propagation 
and  Cultivation  of  the  several  sorts  of  Vegetables,  Herbs,  Fruits  and  Flowers. 

COTTAGE  AND  FARM  BEE-KEEPER, 50 

A  PRACTICAL  WORK,  by  a  Country  Curate. 

COLE'S  AMERICAN  FRUIT  BOOK, 50 

CONTAINING  DIRECTIONS  FOR  RAISING,  PROPAGATING  AND  MANAG- 

ing  Fruit  Trees,  Shrubs  and  Plants  ;  with  a  Description  of  the  Best  Varieties  of  Fruit, 
including  New  and  Valuable  Kinds. 

COLE'S  AMERICAN  VETERINARIAN, 50 

CONTAINING  DISEASES  OF  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS,  THEIR  CAUSES,  SYMP- 

toms  and  Remedies  ;  with  Rules  for  Restormg  and  Preserving  Health  by  good  manage 
ment  ;  also  for  Training  and  Breeding. 

DADD'S  AMERICAN  CATTLE  DOCTOR, 1  00 

CONTAINING  THE  NECESSARY  INFORMATION  FOR  PRESERVING  THE 

Health  and  Curing  the  Diseases  of  Oxen,  Cows,  Sheep  aud  Swine,  with  a  Great  Variety 
of  Original  Recipes  and  Valuable  Information  in  reference  to  Farm  and  Dairy  Manage 
ment,  whereby  every  Man  can  be  his  own  Cattle  Doctor.  The  principles  taught  in  thia 
work  are,  that  all  Medication  shall  be  subservient  to  Nature — that  all  Medicines  must  be 
sanative  in  their  operation,  and  administered  with  a  view  of  aiding  the  vital  powers, 
Instead  of  depressing,  as  heretofore,  with  the  lancet  or  by  poison.  By  G.  H.  DADD,  M.  D 
Veterinary  practitioner. 

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4  Books  published  by  C.  M.  SAXTON,  BARKER  &  Co. 

DADO'S  MODERN  HOESE  DOCTOE, 1  00 

AN  AMERICAN  BOOK  FOR  AMERICAN  FARMERS  ;  Containing  Practi« 

cal  Observations  ou  the  Causes,  Nature  and  Treatment  of  Disease  and  Lameness  of 
Horses,  embracing  the  Most  Recent  and  Approved  Methods,  according  to  an  enlightened 
system  of  Veterinary  Practice,  for  the  Preservation  and  Restoration  of  Health.  With 
illustrations. 

DADD'S  ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  HOBSE,  Plain,    .       2  00 

"  "  "  "  "  Colored  Plates,    400 

WITH  ANATOMICAL  AND  QUESTIONAL  ILLUSTRATIONS;  Containing, 

also,  a  Series  of  Examinations  on  Equine  Anatomy  and  Philosophy,  with  Instructions  in 
reference  to  Dissection  and  the  mode  of  making  Anatomical  Preparations  ;  to  which  is 
added  a  Glossary  of  Veterinary  Technicalities,  Toxicological  Chart,  and  Dictionary  of 
Veterinary  Science. 

DANA'S  MUCK  MANUAL,  FOE  THE  USE  OF  FAEMEES,      -      -       1  00 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  PHYSICAL  >ND  CHEMICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  SOILS 

and  Chemistry  of  Manures  ;  including,  also,  the  subject  of  Composts,  Artificial  Manures 
and  Irrigation.  A  new  edition,  with  a  Chapter  on  Bones  and  Superphosphates. 

DANA'S  PKIZE  ESSAY  ON  MANUEES, 35 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  SOCIETY  FOR 

Promoting  Agriculture,  for  their  Premium.    By  SAMUEL  H.  DANA. 
DOMESTIC  AND  OENAMENTAL  POULTEY,  Plain  Plates,    .      .      .      1  00 
"  "  "  Colored  Plates,         .       -       2  00 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  HISTORY  AND  MANAGEMENT  OF  ORNAMENTAL 

and  Domestic  Poultry.  By  Rev.  EDMUND  SAUL  DIXON,  A.  M. ,  with  large  additions  by 
J.  J.  IVKRR,  M.  D.  Illustrated  with  sixty -five  Original  Portraits,  engraved  expressly  for 
this  work.  Fourth  edition,  revised. 

DOWNING'S  (A.  J.)  LANDSCAPE  GAEDENING, 3  50 

REVISED,  ENLARGED  AND  NEWLY  ILLUSTRATED,  BY  HENRY  WIN- 

throp  Sargent.  This  Great  Work,  which  has  accomplished  so  much  in  elevating  tho 
American  Taste  for  Rural  Improvements,  is  now  rendered  doubly  interesting  and 
valuable  by  the  experience  of  all  the  Prominent  Cultivators  of  Ornamental  Trees  in  the 
United  States,  and  by  the  descriptions  of  American  Places,  Private  Residences,  Central 
Park,  New  York,  Llewellyn  Park,  New  Jersey,  and  a  full  account  of  the  Newer  Decidu 
ous  and  Evergreen  Trees  and  Shrubs.  The  illustrations  of  this  edition  consist  of  seven 
superb  sted  plate  engravings,  by  SMILLIE,  HINSHELWOOD,  Durum  and  others  ;  besides  one 
hundred  engravings  on  wood  and  stone,  of  the  best  American  Residences  and  Parks,  with 
Portraits  of  many  New  or  Remarkable  Trees  and  Shrubs. 

DOWNING'S  (A.  J.)  EUEAL  ESSAYS, 3  00 

ON  HORTICULTURE,  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING,  RURAL  ARCHITECTURE, 

Trees,  Agriculture,  Fruit,  with  his  Letters  from  England.  Edited,  with  a  Memoir  of  tho 
Author,  by  GEORGH  Wai.  CURTIS,  and  a  Letter  to  his  Friends,  by  FRKDERIKA  BREMER,  and 
an  elegant  Steel  Portrait  of  the  Author. 

EASTWOOD  (B.)  ON  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  THE  CEANBEEBY,  50 

WITH  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  BEST*YARIETIES.     BY  B.  EASTWOOD, 

"  Septimus,"  of  the  New  York  Tribune.    Illustrated. 
ELLIOTT'S  WESTEEN  FEUTT  BOOK, 1  25 

A  NEW  EDITION  OF  THIS  WORK,  THOROUGHLY  REVISED.  Em 
bracing  all  the  New  and  Valuable  Fruits,  with  the  Latest  Improvements  in  their  Cultiva 
tion,  up  to  January,  1S59.  especially  adapted  to  the  wants  of  Western  Fruit  Growers  ; 
full  of  excellent  illustrations.  By  F.  R.  ELLIOTT,  Pomologist,  lato  of  Cleveland.  Ohio,  now 
of  St.  Louis. 

EVEEY  LADY  HER  OWN  FLOWEE  GAEDENEB,     ....          50 

ADDRESSED  TO  THE  INDUSTRIOUS  AND  ECONOMICAL  DNLY  ;  containing 

simple  and  practical  Directions  for  Cultivating  Plants  and  Flowers  ;  also,  Hints  for  th« 
Management  of  Flowers  in  Rooms,  with  brief  Botanical  Descriptions  of  Plants  and 
Flowera.  The  whole  in  plain  and  simple  language.  By  LOUISA  JOHNSON. 

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JBooJcs  published  ty  0.  M.  SAXTON,  BARKER  &  Co.  3 

FABM  DBAINAGE, 1 00 

THE   PRINCIPLES,   PROCESSES  AND  EFFECTS  OF  DRAINING  LAND, 

with  Stones,  Wood,  Drain-plows,  Open  Ditches,  and  especially  with  Tiles  ;  including 
Tables  of  Rainfall,  Evaporation,  Filtration,  Excavation,  capacity  of  Pipes,  cost  and  num 
ber  to  the  acre.  With  more  than  100  illustrations.  By  the  Hon.  HENRY  F.  FRENCH,  of 
New  Hampshire. 

FESSENDEN'S  (T.  G.)  AMEKICAN  KITCHEN  GABDENEB,     -      -         60 

CONTAINING  DIRECTIONS  FOR  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  VEGETABLES  AND 

Garden  Fruits.    Cloth. 

FESSENDEN'S  COMPLETE  FARMER  AND  AMERICAN  GABDENEB,    1  25 
RURAL  ECONOMIST  AND  NEW  AMERICAN  GARDENER  ;    Containing 

.  a  Compendious  Epitome  of  the  most  Important  Branches  of  Agriculture  and  Rural 
Economy  ;  with  Practical  Directions  on  the  Cultivation  of  Fruits  and  Vegetables,  includ 
ing  Landscape  and  Ornamental  Gardening.  By  THOMAS  G.  FESSENDEN.  2  vols.  in  1 . 

FIELD'S  PEAB  CULTUBE, 1  00 

THE  PEAR  GARDEN  ;  or,  a  Treatise  on  the  Propagation  and 
Cultivation  of  the  Pear  Tree,  with  Instructions  for  its  Management  from  the  Seedling  to 
the  Bearing  Tree.  By  THOMAS  W.  FIELD. 

FISH  CULTTJBE, 100 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  ARTIFICIAL  PROPAGATION  OF  FISH,  AND  THE 

Construction  of  Ponds,  with  the  Description  and  Habits  of  such  kinds  of  Fish  as  are  most 
suitable  for  Pisciculture.  By  THEODATUS  GARLICK,  M.  D. ,  Vice-President  of  the  Cleveland 
Academy  of  Nat.  Science. 

FLINT  ON  GBASSES, -       -      -      -      1  25 

A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  ON  GRASSES  AND  FORAGE  PLANTS  ;  Com 
prising  their  Natural  History,  Comparative  Nutritive  Value,  Methods  of  Cultivation,  Cut 
ting,  Curing  and  the  Management  of  Grass  Lands.  By  CHARLES  L.  FLINT,  A.  M..  Sucre- 
tary  of  the  Mass.  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

GUENON  ON  MLLCH  COWS, 60 

A  TREATISE  ON  MILCH  Cows,  whereby  the  Quality  and  Quantity  of 

Milk  which  any  Cow  will  give  may  be  accurately  determined  by  observing  Natural 
Marks  or  External  Indications  alone  ;  the  length  of  time  she  will  continue  to  give  Milk, 
&c.,  &c.  By  M.  FRANCIS  GCENON,  of  Libourne,  France.  Translated  by  NICHOLAS  P. 
TRIST,  Esq.  ;  with  Introduction,  Remarks  and  Observations  on  the  Cow  and  the  Dairy, 
by  JOHN  S.  SKINNER.  Illustrated  with  numerous  Engravings.  Neatly  done  up  in  paper 
covers,  37  cts. 

HERBERT'S  HINTS  TO  HORSE-KEEPERS, 125 

COMPLETE  MANUAL  FOR  HORSEMEN  ;  Embracing  : 
How  TO  BREED  A  HORSE.  How  TO  PHYSIO  A  HORSE. 

How  TO  BUY  A  HORSE.  (ALLOPATHY  AND  HOMCEOPATHY 

How  TO  BREAK  A  HORSE.  How  TO  GROOM  A  HORSE. 

How  TO  USE  A  HORSE.  How  TO  DRIVE  A  HORSE. 

How  TO  FEED  A  HORSE.  How  TO  RIDE  A  HORSE. 

And  Chapters  on  Mules  and  Ponies.  By  the  late  HENRY  WILLIAM  HERBERT  (FRANK 
FORRESTER)  ;  with  additions,  including  RAREY'S  METHOD  OF  HORSE  TAMING,  and  BAUCHER'S 
SYSTEM  OF  HORSEMANSHIP  ;  also,  giving  directions  for  the  Selection  and  Care  of  Carriages 
and  Harness  of  every  description,  from  the  City  "  Turn  Out"  to  the  Farmer's  "  Gear," 
and  a  Biography  of  the  eccentric  Author.  Illustrated  throughout. 

EOOPEB'S  DOG  AND  GUN, 50 

A  FEW   LOOSE  CHAPTERS    ON  SHOOTING,   among  which  will   be 

found  somo  Anecdotes  and  Incidents  ;  also  Instructions  for  Dog  Breaking,  and  interest 
ing  letters  from  Sportsmen.  By  A  BAD  SHOT. 

HYDE'S  CHINESE  SUGAR  CANE, 29 

CONTAINING  ITS   HISTORY,  MODE  OF  CULTURE,  MANUFACTURE   o* 

the  Sugar,  &c.  ;  with  Pveports  of  its  success  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States. 
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